① A look on the ground at France’s social protection for artists
Must artists be hungry? In France, they are ‘creative workers’
Local French artists on ‘social protection’
Painters and others brought under the ‘artiste-auteur’ system
Benefits such as health insurance, paid sick leave, and child allowances
Performing artists covered by ‘intermittent du spectacle’
If you prove 507 paid hours in one year
Unemployment benefits paid when there is no work
“Are artists workers?”
In Korea, this is not an easy question to answer. Most artists live on the edge of irregular income, short-term contracts, and unpaid or low-wage labor. Because of this, when income stops between stages or works and creative activity halts, their very livelihood often wavers. Although various support schemes exist, such as employment insurance and industrial accident insurance for artists, and creation stipends, the burden of demanding documentation and high administrative thresholds makes it difficult to access these benefits.
On the 9th of last month (local time) in Paris, France, we met artist Im Sebyung, cellist Hugo Rosano, and pianist Lee Sujin. They said that France’s social protection system for artists does not make them well-off, but provides a minimum safety net that enables them to continue creating. Noh Jeong-yeon, reporter
France has long taken a different path. It recognizes artists’ work as labor and has incorporated it into a universal social protection system. Performing artists who meet certain working hours are covered by the ‘intermittent du spectacle (a system for intermittent workers in the performing arts)’, which protects them with unemployment insurance even during periods without performances. Creators in visual arts such as painting, literature, and photography register as ‘artiste-auteur (independent creators)’ and have their rights guaranteed within the social protection framework. Built since the 1930s, France’s social protection for artists is regarded as a leading model in Europe.
To examine how artists’ labor and livelihoods can be encompassed within a universal social safety net, the Kyunghyang Shinmun went to France. Through the voices of artists on the ground, we looked at how this system operates in their lives and sustains their creative work.
Artist status assessed by ‘continuity’ rather than by outcomes
On the 9th of last month (local time) in Paris, France, artist Im Sebyung explains France’s social protection system for artists. Noh Jeong-yeon, reporter
On the 9th of last month (local time) in Paris, France, we met three artists. Im Sebyung (39), who moves between Korea and France while working in painting and writing, belongs to the artiste-auteur framework for visual artists. Pianist Lee Sujin (39) and her husband, French cellist Hugo Rosano (31), have experience with the intermittent system for performing artists.
Im went to France in 2011 to study, majored in painting and printmaking at the Versailles School of Fine Arts, and then worked as an artist in Korea for four years. She later returned to France and now continues creating while working at a cultural exchange company that connects Korea and France.
She introduced herself as an “artiste-auteur (independent creator).” Unlike performing artists for whom performance time can be counted as working hours, those who earn income by creating workssuch as painters, writers, illustrators, and photographersbelong to a separate independent creator framework.
Having experienced systems in both Korea and France, Im identified the biggest difference as how artist status is recognized and maintained. While Korea focuses on ‘proving’ one’s track record, France places weight on continuously ‘declaring’ creative activity and income.
“In Korea, to prove artist activity you must submit a certain period of exhibition history, contracts, posters, income evidence, and so on. In France, you register with ‘URSSAF’, the social contribution collection agency, and declare income and activity. If Korea emphasizes ‘I must be recognized as an artist’, France emphasizes ‘I work as an artist, declare my income, and hold the corresponding obligations and rights’.”
The threshold for being recognized as an artist is lower than in Korea. At initial registration, rather than evaluating artistic merit or career, authorities confirm whether the activity falls within the independent creator domain and then grant status. After gaining independent creator status, the artist is incorporated into France’s social protection system. They also become eligible to apply for universal health insurance at the level of ordinary employees (Sécurité Sociale), paid sick leave, maternity and child allowances, and family benefits.
Artist Im Sebyung, who moves between France and Korea, combining painting with writing. Noh Jeong-yeon, reporter
Im recalled undergoing emergency surgery for acute tonsillitis shortly after re-entering France in 2022.
“At the time, I was not a full-time office employee and was connected to France’s social protection as an independent creator. My airway had swollen badly, and I even used a private ambulance, but most medical costs were covered and, as I recall, my actual out-of-pocket payment was under 20 euros. What struck me was not being pushed outside the system when I suddenly fell ill. I felt, ina tangible way, that as an artist I was inside this society’s safety net.”
There are also benefits that back creative work. Through eligibility with MDA (Maison des Artistes·House of Artists), she gets discounts on art materials and benefits when using cultural facilities.
“Easing the cost of materials ultimately means ‘keep creating’. As those experiences add up, I feel the stability of ‘being recognized as an artist in this society’.”
Im emphasized that in France the barrier to acquiring artist status is low, but ‘continuity’ is crucial. Even in periods when works do not sell, one must consistently declare what work is being prepared and whether creative activity is continuing in order to maintain status. The longer one keeps artist status, the higher the priority when applying for public studios (ateliers) or housing support, and social insurance and pensions accumulate.
Of course, the system alone does not fully guarantee a livelihood. For visual artists, there is no scheme like the ‘intermittent’ applied to performing artists that tops up a minimum monthly income. That is why Im took a company job for a stable income. While employed, she maintains independent creator status through consistent declarations. Even if she one day leaves the company, her artistic career and social protection rights will continue.
“This system does not make artists economically wealthy. But it underpins continuing creation without giving up.”
The ‘intermittent’ system fills survival gaps in the performing arts
On the 9th of last month (local time) in Paris, France, pianist Lee Sujin answers interview questions. Noh Jeong-yeon, reporter
If artiste-auteur is the mechanism that secures creators’ status for visual artists, the intermittent system does so for performing artists. France treats the employment form of performing artists who work project by projectsuch as musicians, instrumentalists, actors, and dancersdifferently from standard permanent employment. When a production ends, the contract ends, and months without performances repeat. The intermittent scheme supplements the nature of performing arts labormoving between employment and unemploymentwithin the unemployment insurance system.
Based in Versailles near Paris, pianist and composer Lee Sujin explained, “Many people think intermittent is France’s artist welfare program, but strictly speaking it is a form of unemployment insurance.”
“The fact that there are no performances does not mean an artist’s labor stops. Time to prepare the next work, practice, and audition continues. Intermittent is a system that protects, within social insurance, the periods when income is cut off because there are no performances.”
To qualify for intermittent, you must prove 507 hours of paid performing arts work over the past 12 months. After meeting the threshold and being reviewed by France Travail, the national employment agency, those recognized receive unemployment benefits for periods between contracts when they cannot work. The amount paid varies by individual depending on prior wages and work patterns: support decreases in periods when you worked more, and increases when you worked less. Although it differs person by person, it is known to average about 1,400 euros per month (about 2.3 million won).
Lee said, “Performers constantly face the burden of finding the next stage, but the fact that income does not completely vanish when there are no performances is a major advantage.” It buys time to prepare the next stage without giving up music because of immediate livelihood pressures.
French cellist Hugo Rosano explained, “Intermittent is not free money that the state simply gives to artists; it is the value we accrued when we worked, redistributed to us in the off-season.” It is, he said, “a minimum safety net that prevents artists in a kind of semi-unemployed state from being thrown onto the street or becoming homeless.”
‘Solidarity’ that shares benefits and obligations
On the 9th of last month (local time) in Paris, France, French cellist Hugo Rosano answers interview questions. Noh Jeong-yeon, reporter
What underpins intermittent is ‘social insurance’ and ‘solidarity’. Presenters or organizations that employ performing artists bear substantial social insurance contributions in addition to wages, and artists also pay a significant share of their income in taxes. The funds collected are used within the social insurance framework to pool and share risk.
Even in periods when he does not meet the eligibility to receive intermittent, Hugo asks employers to conclude contracts formally. Even if he cannot receive unemployment benefits himself, the social insurance contributions the employer pays can contribute to the social protection of other artists.
“It is close to a communal association in which all artistic workers support one another,” Hugo said, adding that “this structure instills a sense of responsibility among artists that they are contributing to the common good, not just enjoying benefits.”
France’s social protection for artists is not perfect. There are limits and shadows, such as the ‘507-hour’ threshold and complex administrative procedures, employers’ tricks to avoid standard employment, shrinking cultural budgets, and a shortage of public studios. Im pointed out that although France’s safety net for artists appears tight from the outside, once inside it demands considerable ‘administrative literacy’ of artists.
“Registering as an artist does not mean everything is done. You have to understand the agencies and systems that handle social insurance and taxes, health insurance, pensions, and vocational training, and complete the necessary procedures with each. It is a good system, but to access it, artists themselves have to become ‘quasi-administrators’.”
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Intermittent likewise does not fully guarantee performing artists’ lives. Because they must accumulate 507 hours anew each year, freelance musicians cannot be sure they will keep eligibility the following year. For this reason, many musicians secure steady income by teaching at conservatories or schools while performing in parallel. It is the same for Lee and Hugo.
Hugo noted, “Intermittent is not a complete shield for performing artists,” but added, “since the French government is gradually reducing support for orchestras, without intermittent the French music ecosystem would fall into a very serious situation.”
After the interview on the 9th of last month (local time) in Paris, France, artist Im Sebyung, cellist Hugo Rosano, and pianist Lee Sujin pose for a photo. Noh Jeong-yeon, reporter
All three agreed that “life as an artist is not easy in France either.” Even so, the recognition of art as labor and the system that protects it sustain their self-respect and professional identity as artists.
“When I say I do art in Korea, most people ask, ‘How do you make money?’ or ‘You must come from a wealthy family.’ Many view artists as either rich or poor. I have never been asked that in France. Instead, people ask, ‘What kind of paintings do you make?’ ‘What themes do you work on?’ It may seem trivial, but those questions preserve my self-respect as an artist.”
Asked what drives them to keep creating despite many difficulties, Hugo chose ‘passion’ for music.
“Intermittent and social protection also have an impact. If you did not even have money to buy bread right now, who could continue doing art? But even in France, living as an artist is not easy without passion.”
The ‘safety net’ the three artists described in France was closer to a social promise to recognize creation as labor and, through that, have the community protect artists. Not leaving survival solely to passionthat was why they had not left France.
