France may soon adopt the UK’s policy of offering free admission to national museums to encourage more people to take part in the arts.

The French Ministry of Culture has announced that 18 national museums have opened their permanent collections free of charge until 30 June as part of a pilot scheme.

Gratis admission is being offered to the general public or limited to visitors under 26 one night a week.

Foreign visitors, who make up three quarters of all museum visitors in France aged between 18 and 25, are also included in the scheme, which features the Louvre, Pompidou Centre, Musée d’Orsay and Musée du Quai Branly.

A spokesperson for the ministry, Christine André, said: “French museums are ready for more visitors, and we hope to draw in a new public, especially young people. It’s a question of money for some people.”

“If the French start seeing long lines in front of the museums, they’ll start to tell themselves: ‘Hey, foreigners are taking advantage of this. We’d be morons not to.’”

Since adopting a policy of free admission to national museums in 2001, Britain has seen a 50 per cent rise in visitors and the strategy has been considered a significant success.

Photograph: Musée du Quai Branly