En Images – Stéphane Bern, the Française des Jeux, and the Foundation of Heritage revealed, in front of a former relay station in Eure-et-Loir, the list of winners of the 2024 edition. A scratch-off game called « Mission Heritage » was put on sale on Monday, September 2nd, for the benefit of these sites.
It is a back-to-school ritual that Stéphane Bern does not miss. For the 7th consecutive year, the presenter, the Française des Jeux, and the Foundation of Heritage – with the Minister of Culture declining – publicly announced the list of 100 projects that will benefit from the heritage lottery. These projects are added to 18 other emblematic sites already announced in March.
The announcement, eagerly awaited by the heritage community, took place at the former relay station of Saint-Jacques de Dangeau, in Eure-et-Loir. Initially an inn, then a relay station welcoming pilgrims of Saint-Jacques de Compostelle, this timber-framed house dating from the 13th and 14th centuries was acquired in 1969 by a family. The goal is to develop, thanks to the lottery money, hotel rooms as well as a museum of perfume bottles. « For years, this very popular site has been under construction. By helping it, we want to contribute to the rebirth of the heritage of villages, » explains Stéphane Bern.
A quick look at the list of selected projects for 2024 shows, once again, that the initial contract is fulfilled. Cloisters, castles, fountain washhouses, Alsatian, Creole, or Landes houses, bridges, former stations or brickworks, ramparts, dovecotes, stables, mills, abbeys, orangeries… The small heritage of France is well represented, as are all the departments.
More than half in towns with less than 2,000 inhabitants
Half of the owners are associative and public, the other is private, like the family holding the former relay station in Dangeau. 61% of eligible monuments are unprotected, and 58% are located in towns with less than 2,000 inhabitants.
Since 2017, millions of players have participated each year in the recovery of small heritage. This year, a scratch-off ticket, sold for 15 euros, will bring in 1.83 euros for the Heritage mission and possibly up to 1.5 million euros for a lucky winner. Seven special lottery draws (on September 7th, 9th, 11th, 14th, 16th, 18th and 21st) will also be organized. For each grid played for 2.20 euros, the Heritage mission will pocket 0.54 euros.
The small streams make the big rivers and the more we play, the more heritage will win: in 2023, 28 million euros were collected for the benefit of 118 monuments. Since the launch of this operation, which has found its rhythm, 155 million euros have been paid by the Heritage mission to around 950 sites, with the lottery raising other funds, including sponsorship or public subsidies.
