Strategic Press Development Fund
Strategic fund for press development (FSDP): Supports projects that are innovative, increase productivity or improve and diversify editorial content, as well as projects extending the reach of the French press in French-speaking countries. Beneficiaries listed in the catalogue: press companies: online press services; printed publications; press agencies. Not eligible: projects by online press services, press agencies and press companies where public funds provide a decisive share of their financing. The detailed conditions and current status remain to be confirmed with the funder.
The “Strategic fund for press development” is listed in the catalogue to support projects that are innovative, increase productivity or improve and diversify editorial content, as well as projects extending the reach of the French press in French-speaking countries. The financial parameters and conditions in the catalogue must be distinguished from the rules officially in force: check eligibility, eligible costs, timetable and arrangements with the Ministry of Culture.
Funded by Ministère de la Culture
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Who can apply
Beneficiaries indicated in the catalogue: press companies: online press services; printed publications; press agencies. Not eligible: projects by online press services, press agencies and press companies where public funds provide a decisive share of their financing. Check the legal form, size, activity, area, financial situation and exclusions in the official rules in force.
Eligibility conditions
Conditions available in the catalogue: not specified. These are not enough to confirm eligibility. Check the official criteria, exclusions, combination rules and any requirement to apply before ordering, buying or starting works.
What the scheme covers
Operations or costs cited: Eligible costs — fixed assets: intangible investment; immaterial investment; tangible investment; operations producing digital content or digitising content; property works directly linked to the project. Operating costs: rental costs for the first five years; studies, research and development and consultancy; vocational training and other external costs directly linked to the project; studies or surveys to prepare the investment; promotion; salary costs directly relating to IT development tasks or investments making digital content available and, only for French-speaking countries where access to the French press is limited by living standards, actions to develop the French press abroad. Check the eligible costs, supporting documents, minimum thresholds, caps and excluded costs before any commitment.
Amount and funding terms
Amount or form of support indicated in the catalogue: aid from the fund takes the form of grants and repayable advances; the publisher can apply for a grant, a repayable advance or a combination of both. Individual projects: the grant is capped at 40% of eligible costs and the repayable advance at 60%; aid for an eligible publication or online press service project is capped at €1.5 million per project; aid for a press agency project is capped at €600,000; total aid granted in one year to the same publishing company cannot exceed 10% of the fund’s allocation, and total aid in one year to a company, its publishing subsidiaries and the publishing companies it controls cannot exceed 15%. Special cases — projects that are innovative for the sector; projects for publications that received, in the year before the application, the aid for national political and general information publications with low advertising revenue or the aid for regional, departmental and local daily newspapers with low classified-advertising revenue; projects by SMEs with fewer than 25 staff: grant up to 60% of eligible costs, advance up to 70%. For SMEs with fewer than 25 staff registered less than three years before submitting a complete application: grant up to 70% of eligible costs, advance up to 80%. Collective projects must be supported by at least three companies, or two eligible companies if they are based overseas. The grant is set at up to 70% of eligible costs and the advance at up to 70% of eligible costs. A rate of 80% also applies to collective projects whose main purpose is to encourage the ecological transition of the press and that are recognised as innovative for the sector. The grant is capped at €1 million for each publishing company taking part in a collective project, and €400,000 per agency taking part. Aid to a collective project cannot exceed 20% of the Fund’s allocation. For projects above €150,000, award decisions are made after an opinion from a steering committee representing press publishers and public administrations. For projects below €150,000 (simplified procedure), a specific review procedure applies: the Directorate General for Media and Cultural Industries reviews the applications, decides on them and draws up the agreement. This information comes from the catalogue and is not a commitment to award. Check the basis (excluding or including VAT), rates and caps, eligible costs, combination rules and the applicable aid regime.
How to apply
1) Obtain the official page and rules in force. 2) Confirm that the scheme is active and that the project’s area is covered. 3) Check the criteria, amount, basis, exclusions, combination rules and documents. 4) Confirm when to apply and obtain prior approval before committing costs. The grant application deadline of 31 July 2026 has passed. Do not treat the 2026 window as open; check whether a 2027 timetable has been published. Distinguish grant applications from payment requests, which are indicated as open all year round.
Timeline
The 2026 grant application deadline of 31 July 2026 has passed. Check whether a new 2027 timetable has been published; payment requests are indicated as open all year round.
Key facts
- Funder
- Ministère de la Culture
- Type of funding
- Grant
- Status
- Ongoing
- Maximum amount
- €600,000
- Automatically extracted — check the official source
- Funding rate
- 40%
- Automatically extracted — check the official source
- Geographic scope
- All of France
Frequently asked questions
What is the “Strategic fund for press development (FSDP)” scheme for?
The catalogue describes its purpose as follows: supports projects that are innovative, increase productivity or improve and diversify editorial content, as well as projects extending the reach of the French press in French-speaking countries. Check that the project falls within the scope of the official rules in force.
Who can benefit, and what are the main conditions?
Beneficiaries mentioned in the catalogue: press companies: online press services; printed publications; press agencies. Not eligible: projects by online press services, press agencies and press companies where public funds provide a decisive share of their financing. Conditions mentioned: not specified. The legal form, location, exclusions and current criteria must be confirmed.
What amount or type of funding can be obtained?
Aid takes the form of grants and/or repayable advances. For individual projects, the grant is capped at 40% of eligible costs and the advance at 60%, with caps of €1.5 million per publication or online service project and €600,000 per press agency project; higher rates (up to 60–70% for grants and 70–80% for advances) apply to innovative projects, certain low-revenue publications and small SMEs. The official page confirms support for investment by eligible print publishers, online press services and agencies, notably for innovation, productivity and the digital and ecological transition; for 2026, the maximum rates vary with the type of project and the beneficiary’s status. These elements do not guarantee an award; confirm the cap, basis, rate and form of funding with the funder.
Is the scheme still open, and how do I apply?
The 2026 grant application deadline of 31 July 2026 has passed. Check whether a new 2027 timetable has been published; payment requests are indicated as open all year round. Before any order, purchase or spending, confirm that the scheme is open and the procedure with the competent authority.
Official source
No official URL is available in our data for this grant.
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