The French Third sector during and after the COVID19 pandemic

• In Event: Covid Impact on the Third Sector

Abstract

Among European countries, France is with Italy one of those that was hit the earliest and hardest by the coronavirus epidemic born in China in 2019. The associative sector in France constitutes a network of mutual acquaintance and aid that is essential in times of crisis. Lockdown, however, has posed an enormous and unprecedented problem for these organizations—whose physical premises tend to be small at best—when it comes to carrying out their missions. Beyond the difficulties they have been facing on a daily basis for several years—such as decreases in and changes to the form of public financing, the loss of subsidized jobs, modifications to their relationship with the public authorities due to the NOTRe law—lockdown has brought additional challenges, both at the national and local levels, but with great differences according to the field of their activity.

Relying on a survey done during the spring 2020 lockdown (Archambault, 2020) and data from subsequent work (Anheier and alii, 2021; Prouteau and Tchernonog, 2023), the paper looks at how associations have experienced lockdowns very differently depending on their missions and whether or not they have employees. Then it discusses the consequences of this situation for the salaried staff and volunteers working in these organizations, as well as for the associations or foundations themselves, which have been forced to reinvent their tools of governance and to begin reaching out to a different profile of volunteers. Finally, it examines how national and local governments helped the organizations to survive during and after after the lockdowns. If during the covid the vulnerabilities of the Third sector have been revealed, its legitimacy, especially in the care of fragile people have strengthened in the eyes of the government as the general public

The results of a recent and periodic large survey (Prouteau and Tchernonog, 2023) show how the associations survive or not after the lockdowns in 2021: less creation of associations than in the decade preceding the crisis and probably fewer living associations, by death of associations with one or two employees or by concentration between several of them, finally the partial resumption of volunteering after the lockdowns. On the other hand, employment in associations increased in 2021 and 2022 and financial relations with local or national authorities improved. Foundations that have grown rapidly since a favourable law have also helped associations in difficulty. Finally, the 2014 law on Social and Solidarity Economy reinforces the cohesion of Third sector at large.

References

Anheier, Helmut K., Janet Merkel, and Katrin Winkler, (2021) "Culture, the arts and the COVID-19 pandemic: Five cultural capitals in search of solutions." ( on line)

Archambault Edith, “The associative sector during COVID-19, (2020) An overview of the issues and challenges of lockdown”, RECMA Revue internationale de l’économie sociale, 357, 100-108

Prouteau, Lionel and Viviane Tchernonog , Le Paysage associatif français. Mesures et Evolutions

Authors

• Edith Archambault, Edith Archambault

• Lionel Prouteau, Université de Nantes

• Viviane TCHERNONOG, University of Paris1, Centre d’économie de la Sorbonne and ADDES