France's 18-year-olds given €300 culture pass

France's new culture pass for 18-year-olds has had a trial run in 14 areas of France and now it is going national.

Some 800,000 teenagers a year can now look forward to downloading an app and getting €300 (£260; $365).

The pass can be used for tickets to the cinema, museum and theatre, or to buy books, art materials, dance courses and instruments or an online subscription.

Cinemas and museums reopened this week but the pass is not linked to recovery from the Covid pandemic.

Emmanuel Macron, who made the culture pass one of the promises of his 2017 presidential campaign, announced the move in a 30-second TikTok and Instagram video. Reeling off a possible list of movies, museums, novels, manga, video games, rap music and metal, he said: "To take advantage of it, go to the 'culture pass' app - and it's up to you."

Once they register, 18-year-olds will have two years to spend the money. It was originally run as a €500 trial, but the government has decided that €200 of it will be given to schoolchildren from 2022 in chunks of €25 a year for 14- and 15-year-olds, with €50 for the final three years of school.

The app lists a variety of exhibitions, concerts and other cultural events in your local area, such as a Friday night gig by 47Ter in the central town of Nevers that Mr Macron was set to attend.

Capacity in concert halls, theatres and cinemas is still limited to 35%, while space in museums is also restricted.

But France's cinemas and museums have been shut for more than six months so, even though the pass has long been planned, the timing will help kick-start a struggling culture sector as the summer approaches.

The money can also be used to subscribe to digital platforms, as long as they are French. So Netflix, Amazon and Disney+ are out, but French sites such as Canal Plus, Salto and OCS are fine. For music buffs, Spotify is out but Deezer is in.

Not everyone is impressed, especially 19 year olds who were born a few months too soon. "It's tough being 19 in 2021," was one of the more philosophical thoughts on social media.

Others were less polite. One man who turned 19 a few weeks ago denounced the president as a "con-man", while another thought it was a shame as most 18-year-olds still lived with their parents. "I'm not saying they don't need it but 19-25s would need it more, I reckon," said Maxime.

Some political opponents saw it as a tactic to attract new voters in next year's presidential election. Mr Macron has faced dissent within his own party in recent months and far-right leader Marine Le Pen is challenging him in the opinion polls.

Under the two-year test period in 14 French departments, reports say that of the 164,000 who signed up for the culture pass, three-quarters used it at least once. By far the most popular choice was books, while buying musical instruments, going to the cinema and audio-visual entertainment were also popular.