English
Patronage is often associated with the expression of an individual’s free choice to contribute part of their fortune to the arts and culture. This article analyses the conditions fostering alliances between big business and artistic and cultural actors in France in the 1980s and 1990s, showing that this “patronage” was above all conceived as a supplementary contribution to public funds. It emphasizes the decisive role of the French State’s cultural adminis tration, which worked tirelessly to enroll corporate patrons in funding its own institutions.