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Good practice Imported

France's Tiers-Lieux Network — Scaling Rural Coworking and Third Places Nationwide

France · Paris · See the France profile · See the Paris profile

Evidence: Observational / pre–post Top 29% 76/100 · Ask Evidence Copilot about this practice

France's state-backed 'tiers-lieux' network grew from ~1,800 third places in 2018 to 3,500 in 2023 (target 5,000 by 2025), with 407 'Fabriques de territoire' hubs funded €62m and a third of sites in rural areas.

1,800
Sites (2018)
3,500
Sites (2023)
5,000
Target sites (2025)
34%
Sites in rural areas (2023)
28%
Sites in mid-sized cities (2023)
700+
Third places/consortiums funded since 2020
407 €62m
'Fabriques de territoire' hubs funded
100 €30m
'Manufactures de proximité' units funded
68
Departments covered
204 €50m
Spaces funded via Deffinov skills programme
France's Tiers-Lieux Network — Scaling Rural Coworking and Third Places Nationwide

Details

Maturity
Scaling
Promoter
Agence Nationale de la Cohésion des Territoires (ANCT)
Period
2018–present (target 2025)
Keywords
coworking, rural development, entrepreneurship support, remote work

Context

Tiers-lieux ("third places") are hybrid coworking, community and light-production spaces blending remote work, entrepreneurship support and local services. They expanded rapidly across France from the mid-2010s and were formalised under the national "Nouveaux Lieux, Nouveaux Liens" call for projects (2019), coordinated by ANCT (Agence Nationale de la Cohésion des Territoires).

Objectives

Reduce territorial inequality by supporting rural entrepreneurship, retaining local jobs, enabling telework and easing relocation to smaller towns.

Activities

Since 2020 the state has funded over 700 third places or consortiums, including 407 'Fabriques de territoire' resource hubs (€62m, 105 re-conventioned) and 100 'Manufactures de proximité' small-scale production units (€30m) spread across 68 departments, plus 204 spaces funded through the Deffinov skills programme (€50m).

Results

The network grew from roughly 1,800 sites in 2018 to 3,500 identified in 2023 (28% in mid-sized cities, 34% in rural areas, half opened since 2019), with a stated target of 5,000 by 2025. Academic research on rural coworking and tiers-lieux in France finds they help rural remote workers 'negotiate marginality'.

Conclusions

The growth figures come from ANCT's own labelling waves and observatory rather than an independent counterfactual impact evaluation; academic sources describe persistent 'professionalisation challenges' and an unclear long-term economic model for a share of sites, meaning many struggle to reach financial sustainability without ongoing public support.

Implementation
Indicative cost
Very high (> €5M) — Over €140m committed across combined funding waves since 2020 (€62m Fabriques de territoire, €30m Manufactures de proximité, €50m Deffinov skills programme).
Time to results
Long (> 3 years) — Formalised nationally in 2019; scaling from 2018 through a 2025 target.
Staffing & skills
ANCT (Agence Nationale de la Cohésion des Territoires), local authorities, private operators, civil-society consortiums

Conditions for success

  • National state co-funding combined with local partnership networks (15 active regional networks)
  • Distinct funding formats matched to different needs: resource hubs (Fabriques), small-scale production (Manufactures), skills training (Deffinov)
  • Targeting of rural and mid-sized-city territories rather than major metros

Common failure modes

  • Many sites struggle to reach financial sustainability without ongoing public support ('professionalisation challenges', unclear long-term economic model for a share of sites)
  • Growth figures rely on the programme's own observatory rather than independent counterfactual evaluation

Where it fits

Governance type
national agency coordinating with local authorities and private/civil-society operators
Scale
national, with explicit rural and mid-sized-city targeting
Income level
high-income

Commonly funded by

ERDF — European Regional Development Fund National / regional programmes

Indicative funding routes for practices of this type — always check each programme's current calls and eligibility rules.

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Data sources

Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.

Attachments

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