Public Action & Third Places

Tomorrow’s world is already here!

Public Action & Third Places

Tomorrow’s world is already here!

Public Action & Third Places

Tomorrow’s world is already here!

Public Action & Third Places

Tomorrow’s world is already here!

Public Action & Third Places

Tomorrow’s world is already here!

Welcome to the portal of public actors mobilised in support of third places

This is where to find out about committed stakeholders, locally and nationally supported actions, innovative schemes launched in third places, and testimonies of project leaders and the users of these collaborative and participatory spaces located nationwide.

Third places are one of the facets of France that are being reinvented day to day. For several years, all over France local actors, public and private, have been multiplying initiatives and experimental projects. In concrete terms, by mobilising their best intentions and the latest technologies, starting with the digital, together they are inventing solutions to local challenges, whether they are economic, social or ecological, and often all of these at the same time. The momentum is impressive, and as the latest report from the France Tiers-Lieux association emphasises, over 2,000 of these places have already been identified, all of them centres of activity, creativity and culture and over half, it should be noted, situated outside of the metropolitan areas.

Since 2019, the government has been supporting these facilities which, by releasing energy and creativity, have provided new spaces where people can make things, work and live together and shape new ways of inhabiting the world.

Indeed, not only have third places proven their added value in terms of bringing public services closer to people in isolated, especially rural areas of the country, but in recent months, the health crisis has confirmed the acceleration of a number of phenomena until recently considered as still in the fledgling stages, remote working and telehealth to begin with, and more widely, the attractiveness of a certain number of our medium-sized cities.

Today, third places have become one of the pillars of the recovery with a single objective: serving the greater good by “doing things together” on a local level, supporting the transitions, and drawing, day after day, the outlines of a more inclusive and resilient France.

Jean Castex, Prime Minister
Jacqueline Gourault, Minister for Territorial Cohesion and Relations with Local Authorities

Find support for my third place

France Tiers-Lieux and Aides-territoires have joined forces to make it easier for project leaders and third places to find support, by publicising and improving access to existing support schemes.

Key figures *

Third places in France

third places in 2021

million people have conducted a project in a third place **

people work there on a daily basis

million people have attended a cultural event in third places **

people run and manage third places

million in aggregate turnover

* France Tiers-Lieux data ** figures 2019

State support for third places

million invested by the State in third places

accredited ‘Fabriques de Territoire’ (territorial third-place resource centres)

accredited ‘Manufactures de Territoire’ (local third-places)

5 government measures to support and develop third places

1

Developing ‘Manufactures de Proximité’ (collaborative community workshops)

€30 million allocated to the creation of 100 Manufactures de Proximité, 20 of which have already been accredited

Find out more

2

Supporting the development of vocational training

€50 M invested in developing training in partnership with the High Commission for Competencies at the French Ministry of Labour

Find out more

3

Hosting of 3,000 civic service missions

€20 million to finance 3,000 young people on civic service missions over 3 years

Find out more

4

Rolling out France Services Digital Advisors

€25 M to support digital inclusion in third places, including €15 M earmarked to support the manufacture of new digital inclusion furniture in third places and by makers

Find out more

5

Strengthening the national and territorial network

€12 M invested over 3 years to finance support for project leaders, the consolidation of the sector and regional networks

Find out more

What is a ‘third place’?

Third places are physical spaces for engaging in activities together: coworking, “micro-folies” (new-generation, local cultural platforms) connected campuses, shared workshops, FabLabs, solidarity-based garages, social places, makerspaces, ‘friches culturelles’ (culture factories), public service centres, and more…

Third places are the new locations for developing social links, emancipation and collective initiatives. The nationwide roll-out of digital technologies has facilitated their development.

Each place has its own specificity, its own ways of functioning, its own financing, and its own community. But all of them are venues for informal meetings, social interaction, creativity and collective projects.

In short, third places are where people come together to create, train, learn, do things together, make things, participate and forge social links…

News

First “Third Places for Europe” meeting

First “Third Places for Europe” meeting

The "Third Places for Europe" working group met for the first time today at the Mains d'œuvre Fabrique de Territoire (Seine-Saint-Denis, Ile de France). Under the impetus of the ANCT, via the "Nouveaux lieux, Nouveaux liens" (New Places, New Links) programme, the...

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Hyperlinks

Discover the Hyperlinks web series – tomorrow’s world is already here! An immersive exploration of third places to discover the many activities they offer.