Created under the French Act of October 25, 1946, and reformed under the Regulatory Order No. 2009-901 of July 24, 2009, pertaining to the legislative section of the Cinema and Moving Image Code, the "Centre National du Cinéma et de l’Image Animée" ("National Centre for Cinema and the Moving Image"—CNC) is a government body placed under the authority of the French Culture Ministry and is headed by a president.

The CNC is an incorporated organization with legal and financial autonomy. It is responsible for ensuring the unified conception and implementation of state policy in the film sector and other industries relating to the moving image, notably the television, video and multimedia sectors, including video games.