Françoise Nyssen, France’s minister for culture, has announced plans to launch a heritage lottery fund to help finance projects across the country.

Launching in September 2018, the Loto du Patrimone will be funded via a lottery draw and scratch card game, which is expected to generate up to €20m (US$23.8m, £17.6m) a year.

"We've been talking about the lottery for years so now we're doing it,” said Nyssen as she unveiled the new strategy to maintain and restore more than 2,000 of France’s heritage sites considered ‘at risk’.

The announcement follows confirmation by French President Emmanuel Macron that public funding for French monuments will be increased by 5 per cent, rising to €326m (US$388.5m, £287.9m) a year for the current government’s five-year term.

Of that sum, €15m (US$17.9m, £13.2m) has been earmarked specifically for smaller sites in villages of 2,000 or fewer people.

Government spending on France’s heritage has dropped significantly since 2010, with the figure falling by more than 40 per cent.

The new lottery aims to address some of the shortfall, with Nyssen saying the figure was “realistic” based on the government’s current financial status.