French Associations: A Major Footprint, Both Economic and Societal

While associations play a structural role in social and territorial cohesion, they also have a major societal and economic footprint. Asterès, focusing exclusively on the latter aspects, estimates the total economic contribution of associations at 6% of French GDP and 2.8 million direct and indirect jobs, across all regions.

ASTERES – Footprint of French associations – 08042026

Demography: strong dynamism, particularly driven by social ties and leisure

With over 1.2 million active structures recorded in 2024, the French associative sector demonstrates remarkable vitality. This dynamism is driven by a steady flow of 70,000 new organizations created each year, ensuring a 1% growth rate per decade. A vast majority (65%) are dedicated to leisure activities and fostering social cohesion. Furthermore, the commitment of 13 million volunteers—representing 20 million individual actions—is primarily focused on sports, social impact, and solidarity.

This dynamism is not uniform and highlights territorial disparities: it is particularly pronounced in Brittany and Southern France, where local challenges foster complementarity between volunteering and paid employment. This disparity is also reflected in the use of salaried staff: in rural areas, the weight of employment within this vital sector is generally higher than in urban areas. This is explained by the fact that, in rural zones, civil society organizations fill the gap where the for-profit sector is absent for essential services such as healthcare or elderly care.

Non-Profit Budgets: Growing Financial Strain Amidst Declining State Funding and Rising Costs 

With a total budget of €118.7 billion in 2023, the associative sector mobilizes €53 billion in public funding, combining grants (17%) and public service-related income (28%), with the remainder covered by private resources (memberships, donations, and sales of services). This funding is primarily driven by Departments (€16 billion) and municipal authorities (€7 billion), which stand as the leading local contributors to the sector. Municipal interventions are mostly focused on sports, culture, and socio-cultural activities, while Departments prioritize their social mandates (nursing home fees, APA, PCH), which account for nearly 90% of their spending on civil society organizations.

Following growth of 5% in 2024 and 7% in 2025, State funding for associations will undergo a 19% contraction in 2026—a reduction of €2.2 billion—creating a « scissors effect » for the sector. Simultaneously, organizations have faced growing strain on their operating costs for several years, a trend set to continue in 2026. Within a sample of the 15 largest French associations, wages rose by 7% and social security contributions by 4% between 2023 and 2024, while public generosity declined by 5%, weakening their financial stability. More generally, this structural imbalance persists through 2025 and 2026: labor costs are expected to rise by 1.9% in 2026 (following a 1.8% increase in 2025), while rents and service purchases are projected to grow by 1.6% each in 2026 (after a 2.3% increase in 2025).

French Associations as an Economic Sector: 1.9 Million Employees

In terms of employment, while only 11% of civil society organizations use salaried staff, they nevertheless employ 1.9 million people, with a total payroll of €46.9 billion. The impact of this vital sector on local employment varies significantly across territories: while the share of non-profit employment reaches a peak of 31% in Lozère, it falls to 4% in Hauts-de-Seine. This heterogeneity is also reflected in departmental budgets, with the total payroll ranging from €80 million in Creuse to €4.7 billion in Paris.

Indirect socio-economic contribution : nearly 1 million jobs generated in the rest of the economy by association spending

When considering the spillover effects of associations on the rest of the economy, in addition to their direct footprint, the total contribution of the sector reaches 2.8 million jobs, €219 billion in economic activity and value added equivalent to 6% of GDP. The overall contribution is therefore macroeconomic in scale, with total activity reaching a level comparable to the construction sector in France (€220 billion). These spillover effects are estimated using the Asterès Impact Model (MIA). More specifically, spending on suppliers and wages paid generate demand for the rest of the French economy, producing total spillover effects estimated at 1 million jobs, €166 billion in economic activity and 3% of GDP.