Unions, employees, and owners of the public audiovisual sector have been holding their breath for weeks. In the newspapers, the stands have continued to rain to oppose the abolition of the contribution to public broadcasting. The deputies adopted at first reading, the disappearance of the fee which finances France Televisions, Radio France, France Media World (RFI and France 24), INA and Arte, Saturday July 23, at the National Assembly.
Faced with the outcry, the government had, in part, given up on this campaign promise by Emmanuel Macron, saying it was ready to support an alternative supported by its majority, which replaces the fee with a levy on VAT. “We can’t make more solid and sustainable recipes”thus justified the Minister of the Economy, Bruno Le Maire, during the general discussion, Friday, July 22.
The deputies adopted the article thus modified by 170 votes for and 57 against, Saturday morning. The groups Renaissance (ex-La République en Marche), Modem, Horizons, Les Républicains (LR) and Rassemblement national (RN) voted in favor, and the left-wing alliance Nupes unanimously against.
Sign of their rallying to this option, Horizons, MoDem, Les Républicains had also tabled amendments to this effect. The National Gathering is in favor of the abolition of the license fee, but wishes in the process to privatize France Télévisions and Radio France. The New Popular Ecologist and Social Union (Nupes) has shown itself united in opposing the disappearance of this contribution.
“A condition of democracy”
Inaki Echaniz (PS) called this deletion a ” bad idea “ which will affect stable funding. Alexis Corbière (LFI) underlined that guaranteeing “ the independence of public broadcasting is a condition of democracy”. Culture Minister Rima Abdul Malak, on the other hand, argued that “it is not the royalty that guarantees independence”, but Arcom (ex-CSA), the body that appoints the leaders of public broadcasting.
During this often turbulent session, the Minister of Public Accounts, Gabriel Attal, expressed his attachment to “strong public broadcasting”while qualifying as” obsolete “ this fee based on the possession of a television at the time of tablets and other smartphones. The fee is currently set at 138 euros per year in mainland France.
The left has also accused the government of taking inspiration from the extreme right to ultimately dismantle public broadcasting. “ Zemmour and M.me Le Pen had asked for it, Mr. Macron will have done it”, launched the communist Stéphane Peu. Mme Le Pen, however, felt that “The government’s plan has nothing to do with what we want to do”namely a « privatisation » in good and due form.
A levy on VAT has the advantage of isolating the resources allocated to public broadcasting from the general budget of the State. The affected tax system is preserved and with it a form of guarantee of resources, necessary to maintain the independence of the television and radio channels of the public audiovisual sector.
Moreover, the pure and simple abolition of the fee harbored a risk of unconstitutionality, as was raised by the General Inspectorate of Finance and the General Inspectorate of Cultural Affairs, on July 13. “It is not certain that we completely rule out the risk before the Constitutional Council”warns, however, the deputy Céline Calvez (Renaissance), for whom this new device “Will not be easier to explain to the French, who already do not fully understand what the license fees finance. Public broadcasting deserves a real public debate. »
A half relief
It remains to be seen how much money will be allocated. In 2020, the fee had brought in 3.1 billion euros, and the State had added 653 million euros to compensate for the VAT exemption enjoyed by five million households, i.e. a total of 3.8 billion euros. euros. For 2022, public broadcasting companies should not have to worry.
Hearing before the National Assembly on July 12, Rima Abdul-Malak promised that “compensation would be made to the nearest euro”. Indeed, in the event of adoption, this new mode of financing would come into force from 2022: the fee would not be deducted in October, and households that have started to pay would be reimbursed.
But it would only be a half-relief for public broadcasting. In parallel with this project, the government is considering an overhaul of organizations, with probably, as a result, new savings. Should Radio France and France Télévisions be merged? Create a joint holding company? Or strengthen partnerships, particularly in local news, by bringing together France Bleu and France 3? At this point, all options are on the table.
In front of the deputies, Rima Abdul-Malak tried to reassure herself by saying “attached to the substantive debate on the priorities of public broadcasting such as youth, creation or proximity”. Time is running out: the contracts of objectives and means, which set budgets and missions, expire at the end of the year. From the start of the school year, the situation could flare up. The unions of France Télévisions have filed a strike notice for September 12, protesting against the merger of the national and regional newspapers of France 3.