France Tiers-lieux

Name

France Tiers-lieux

Legal name

France Tiers-Lieux

Website

https://francetierslieux.fr

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Development / Civic Infrastructure Coordination

NAICS

International Affairs (92812)

akta.pro primary industry

International Standards Development & Standardization Bodies (BPADANAA)

Keywords

• Third places coordination
• Public interest group
• Community ecosystem support
• Territorial development programmes
• Civic infrastructure research

Headquarters

HQ city

Paris

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Public institutional funding: France Tiers-Lieux operates as a Groupement d'Intérêt Public (GIP), a form of public-private partnership in France. As such, its primary revenue derives from institutional public funding contributed by multiple French ministries (Ministry of Territorial Cohesion/Ecology, Ministry of Economy, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Labour, ANCT) and possibly partner organizations. No commercial revenue streams are disclosed.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

France Tiers-Lieux is a Groupement d'Intérêt Public (GIP) that supports, coordinates, and studies the tiers-lieux (third places) ecosystem across France. It delivers this through state labelling programmes (Fabriques de territoire, Manufactures de proximité, DEFFINOV), the Observatoire des Tiers-Lieux data and research platform, national events and webinars, and direct accompaniment of project leaders and public actors. All outputs are provided free of charge to tiers-lieux and public actors.

Product overview

France Tiers-Lieux is a public interest group (GIP) that coordinates, supports, and observes the tiers-lieux ecosystem in France. The organization operates a network of support programs including Fabriques de territoire (territorial factories) and Manufactures de proximité (local production hubs) funded by the French State, alongside DEFFINOV which has labeled 205 training tiers-lieux that have trained nearly 400,000 people. The Observatoire des Tiers-Lieux serves as the central data platform tracking over 3,500 tiers-lieux across France, providing research publications including the annual barometer on local elected officials and tiers-lieux, thematic studies on food-related tiers-lieux, and the Cahiers de Recherche academic publication series. The organization also facilitates knowledge sharing through national events (Faire Tiers-Lieux, DEFFINOV encounters) and webinar programs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Observatoire des Tiers-Lieux National data and research platform providing census data, media resources, research publications, and studies on the tiers-lieux ecosystem in France. Targets tiers-lieu project leaders, public actors, and researchers.
• Programme Fabriques de territoire State labelling and funding programme that designates tiers-lieux as 'Fabriques de territoire' and provides them with multi-year financing and accompaniment for local territorial development. Targets tiers-lieux engaged in local development.
• Programme Manufactures de proximité State labelling and funding programme that designates tiers-lieux as 'Manufactures de proximité' to support local production activities, economic development, and the revaluation of local know-how. Targets production-oriented tiers-lieux.
• Programme DEFFINOV - Tiers-lieux de formation National labelling programme that designates 205 tiers-lieux as official training centres, having trained nearly 400,000 people in France. Co-supported by the DGEFP (Ministry of Labour) and ANCT. Targets tiers-lieux engaged in training activities.
• Baromètre Élus locaux et tiers-lieux Annual barometer study measuring local elected officials' engagement and relationship with tiers-lieux across France. Targets public actors and researchers.
• Étude Tiers-lieux nourriciers Study-action on food-related tiers-lieux and citizen reappropriation of food systems. Targets tiers-lieux, food systems actors, and public actors working on food democracy and agroecological transitions.
• Cahiers de Recherche - Panorama de la Recherche sur les Tiers-Lieux Research publication volume #1 providing a critical panorama of research on tiers-lieux in France, with contributions from academic researchers. Targets researchers, public actors, and tiers-lieu practitioners.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 3,500 tiers-lieux mapped and supported nationally, with 62% outside metropolitan areas and 1/3 in rural zones
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered major and core.

• France Travail (Pôle Emploi)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 November 2025On 19 November 2025, France Tiers-Lieux and France Travail signed a national partnership convention at the Salon des Maires et des Collectivités Locales, aimed at promoting employment services in hyper-proximity through tiers-lieux across all French territories. Signed by Thibaut Guilluy (Director General of France Travail) and Yolaine Proult (Director General of France Tiers-Lieux).
• Ministère de la Transition Écologique and ADEMEmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2022The Ministry of Ecological Transition and ADEME (Agency for Ecological Transition) partnered with France Tiers-Lieux to make tiers-lieux key pivots of ecological transition in French territories. This partnership was formalized by a convention signed on 1 March 2022.
• DGEFP (Ministère du Travail)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Directorate General for Employment, Vocational Training and Job Quality (under the Ministry of Labour) co-organises the DEFFINOV national encounter with France Tiers-Lieux and other partners (ANCT, Région Centre-Val de Loire, Ambition Tiers-Lieux).
• ANCT (Agence Nationale de la Cohésion des Territoires)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe ANCT is a key institutional partner of France Tiers-Lieux, co-developing and co-funding major state programmes including Fabriques de territoire, Manufactures de proximité, and the AMI Réseaux régionaux de tiers-lieux.
• CNSA (Caisse Nationale de Solidarité pour l'Autonomie)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCNSA partnered with France Tiers-Lieux to support the 'tiers-lieu dans mon EHPAD' initiative (25 laureates), and related programmes on autonomy and aging well in tiers-lieux, alongside CNAV, CARSAT, and ARS.
• Multiple French ministries (Culture, Education, Economy, Labour, Territorial Cohesion)coreOthersFrance Tiers-Lieux operates as a GIP whose members include multiple French ministries and public bodies. The logos of the Ministry of Territorial Cohesion/Ecology, Ministry of Economy, Ministry of National Education, Ministry of Culture, and Ministry of Labour are displayed on the organization's website as institutional partners/backers.
• Association Nationale des Tiers-Lieux, La Coopérative Tiers-Lieux, Fab'Lim, Réseau CocagnecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFrance Tiers-Lieux collaborated with these organizations on the study-action 'Tiers-lieux nourriciers, une réappropriation citoyenne de l'alimentation', with support from the Fondation Daniel et Nina Carasso and DRAAF Occitanie. Published January 2025.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• STATION F: France's largest startup campus located in Paris, hosting thousands of entrepreneurs and a broader portfolio of programmes (Founders, Fighters, Females, Thematics). Sits in the broader third-place/innovation ecosystem that France Tiers-Lieux coordinates but operates at a much larger commercial scale and does not specialize in the tiers-lieu model.

Others

• ADEME (Agence de la Transition Écologique): France's agency for ecological transition, with which France Tiers-Lieux signed a formal convention in March 2022 to position tiers-lieux as pivots of ecological transition. Comparable as a public agency ecosystem actor rather than as a direct competitor.
• European Coworking Assembly: A European-level industry association representing coworking and third-place operators. Comparable as an ecosystem-coordination body for the broader third-place movement, operating at continental rather than national scope and convening actors that overlap with France Tiers-Lieux's mission.
• ANCT (Agence Nationale de la Cohésion des Territoires): France's national agency for territorial cohesion and a key institutional partner that co-funds FTL programmes (Fabriques de territoire, Manufactures de proximité, AMI Réseaux régionaux). Functions as both a major funding counterparty and an adjacent public body in the territorial development space FTL operates in.

Direct peers

• Réseau Cocagne: A national network of social enterprises focused on organic agriculture, food insertion, and local food systems. Directly overlaps with the tiers-lieux nourriciers segment that France Tiers-Lieux studies and supports, and was a co-author of the 2025 food-and-third-places study-action with FTL.
• Association Nationale des Tiers-Lieux (ANTL): The national association for tiers-lieux in France, acting as a sister coordination body to France Tiers-Lieux. Both organizations mobilize and represent the tiers-lieu ecosystem, frequently co-producing studies and national events, and overlapping significantly in mission and constituency.
• Impact Hub France: A French network of impact-focused third places and coworking spaces with a comparable mission of supporting social and environmental innovation. Operates under a global Impact Hub franchise with more commercial revenue and a stronger international footprint, making it a closer commercial analog to the third-place concept FTL coordinates.
• La Machinerie: A well-known French third place focused on digital commons, ecological transition, and social innovation. Operates as an individual flagship tier-lieu that exemplifies the model France Tiers-Lieux coordinates, making it comparable in purpose and an inspiration referenced in FTL's own ecosystem portraits.
• La Coopérative Tiers-Lieux: A cooperative-form national structure for tiers-lieux that co-develops research and ecosystem initiatives with France Tiers-Lieux (e.g., the tiers-lieux nourriciers study, January 2025). Competes for the role of representative national body but offers a different legal/governance model.

Regional players

• Bundesverband Coworking (Germany): Germany's national coworking association, playing a comparable national-coordination role for the third-place/coworking ecosystem, but in a different geography. Comparable in mission (representing the sector vis-à-vis public authorities and producing research) but operates under a private association model rather than as a public interest group.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/france-tiers-lieux

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about France Tiers-lieux