They are considered a form of industrial subsidy usually by their opponents, and a form of public interest communication, such as public broadcasting, by their supporters. A common means of providing a cultural subsidy is to have public broadcasters pay for program development.
Subsidies to transportation, housing, agriculture, mining, and other industries have been instituted on the grounds that their preservation or expansion is in the public interest.
Subsidies were used in England in the later Middle Ages, when Parliament granted funds to the king to augment or replace customs and other taxes collected by royal prerogative; such early subsidies later became the means by which the power of taxation was taken from the king and lodged in Parliament.
Subsidies are also referred to as corporate welfare by those who oppose their use.
In total, the cultural budget amounts to 5 per cent of the national budget, and is spent on the financing of the state cultural institutions and on the organization of cultural events.
Several cultural institutions and higher education facilities are financed from the budget of the Town Hall (Mairie), accounting for 13.7 per cent of the total budget.
Among the cultural sectors or fields to receive the highest degree of attention, mention ought to be made of the protection and proper presentation of cultural heritage, education and cultural activities, cultural and artistic training, support for creative efforts, cultural animation, and diffusion.
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