A more equitable future for France’s rural areas with the France Ruralités plan
- Rural Pact
- Rural Revitalisation Platform
- Prosperous rural areas
- Stronger Rural Areas
- Connected rural areas
- Resilient rural areas
In France, 22 million people – one third of the population – live in rural areas and almost 90% of the country’s municipalities are rural. The action plan France Ruralités aims to enhance the appeal of the country’s rural areas and ensure true equality of opportunity for all French citizens.
Image by Thierry Coulon from Pexels on Canva
Launched in June 2023, France Ruralités complements and extends France’s Rural Agenda, which was adopted in 2019. It seeks to address challenges in housing, mobility, health and culture in rural areas. The plan includes measures such as improving access to education and training, strengthening local services, supporting environmentally friendly projects, and bridging the digital divide.
France Ruralités is the result of extensive consultation with rural stakeholders and is aimed at everyone: from elected officials, associations and researchers to shopkeepers, craftspeople, businesses and citizens, providing them with concrete solutions.
A four-pronged plan for rural areas
The France Ruralités action plan is based on four pillars:
- Supporting small rural municipalities with fewer than 3 500 residents to carry out their development projects through the Villages of the Future programme; 100 project managers from the National Agency for Territorial Cohesion (ANCT) are based at the prefectures – the state’s representative offices in French departments – to help villages design their projects and flag up funding opportunities. (An additional 20 project managers are funded by CEREMA – the Centre for Studies and Expertise on Risks, the Environment, Mobility and Urban Planning.)
- Grants to help rural municipalities preserve their biodiversity reserves, carbon sinks, natural resources and remarkable landscapes – key elements for economic activity and quality of life. Funding for these ‘rural amenities’ grants was increased from EUR 40 million to EUR 100 million in 2024 and to EUR 110 million in 2025.
- Improving daily life in rural areas through concrete measures in the areas of mobility, education, attractiveness and services, health, culture, housing and accommodation, security, culture and heritage.
- A new zoning system called France Ruralités Revitalisation, which was established in 2024. This aims to strengthen rural areas’ attractiveness by granting tax and social security exemptions to certain businesses and professions (such as doctors) that set up operations in these municipalities.
ANCT has recently updated its guide on France Ruralités, which presents the government's measures to support the attractiveness and dynamism of rural areas. Primarily intended for elected officials, the guide is also valid for associations, businesses and citizens involved in local development. It offers concrete solutions to address the specific challenges of rural areas, covering economic development, culture, education, engineering, health, mobility, housing, heritage, agriculture, civic engagement and community life.
In particular, the guide highlights the fight against vacant housing, the deployment of health centres and mobile solutions for access to care, support for local businesses and cultural initiatives, as well as the strengthening of territorial engineering to support communities in implementing their projects.
ANCT and its role in France Ruralités
The National Agency for Territorial Cohesion coordinates France Ruralités and manages the Villages of the Future programme. The local points of reference are the sous-préfets – sub-prefects for rural affairs. In each department, a member of the prefectural staff oversees implementation of the measures set out in the plan and acts as the point of contact for rural affairs within their department.
Among its other activities, ANCT helps local authorities recruit people for support roles. It also supports voluntary networks and organisations working in rural areas (e.g. Familles Rurales, Fédération Nationale du Sport en Milieu Rural, InSite, Bouge ton coq, Bistrots de Pays and LEADER France), as well as initiatives promoting gender equality, through an annual call for expressions of interest.
The agency plays an active role in various government initiatives such as a rural mobility scheme, a fund to support rural trade, rural education hubs, micro-folies (cultural spaces that offer digital access to works from national museums), health centres and support for refurbishing vacant housing.
In addition, ANCT contributes to the coordination of European rural policies as co-leader of the French CAP network – Réseau National Agricultures et Ruralités (RNAR). This network coordinates, facilitates and monitors EAFRD actions as well as initiatives such as LEADER, the European Innovation Partnership and regional rural networks.
The agency is also part of the Rural Pact, to better promote available European funds and participate in the development of future rural policies. With support from ANCT and RNAR, France will host a Rural Pact national event later this year. Stay tuned for more news about this in the coming months!
Author: David Armellini, National Agency for Territorial Cohesion, France