Institut pour les Savoir-Faire français survives near-collapse, reinvents mission for French craft

Founded in 1889 as the Société d’encouragement aux Arts et à l’Industrie, the Institut pour les Savoir-Faire français (ISFF) nearly disappeared in 2024 after losing management of the Entreprise du Patrimoine Vivant (EPV) label to private firm SGS. The association entered a preventive safeguard procedure, slashing staff from 36 to 17 by September 2025. Despite the crisis, it maintained the Journées européennes des Métiers d’Art (JEMA) with 1.7 million visitors. Now refocused, ISFF continues its three-part mission: promoting France's 281 craft trades to the public and policymakers, fostering transmission through initiatives like the Prix Avenir Métiers d’Art (awarding under-26s since 2002), and supporting craft businesses via the new accelerator ACMÉ. A key priority is establishing an observatory to track the economic health of craft enterprises, as 37% of directors are over 55, signaling major retirements in the next decade. ISFF also runs the Per Durare project with AG2R La Mondiale to identify rare skills, and plans to strengthen JEMA's European dimension. New supporters include the Fondation Michelin for JEMA 2026 and the CIC bank, alongside continued backing from the Ministry of Culture.