France now joins the club of countries that “change regime for public service support” after the vote on Saturday July 23 by the National Assembly, “in the stormy atmosphere that characterizes it”of a law abolishing the radio-TV license fee, a campaign promise by President Emmanuel Macron, reports the Swiss daily Time.
The vote acquired by 170 votes against 57 – mainly from the left – is a reflection of the current polarization within the French Parliament and the absence of a majority, notes the daily.
“The Republicans and the National Rally supported the presidential majority on this point. With different views: the far right wants to privatize public broadcasting, which the majority defends. The left rejected en bloc”.
Four billion euros: where to find them?
Moreover, the financial stakes are not negligible and the government will still have to find an alternative to the four billion euros a year generated so far by the fee, underlines Time.
“In France, the fee costs 139 euros for each household that declares receiving programs […] It brings in approximately 3.9 billion euros, of which 2.5 billion go to France Télévisions, 608 million to Radio France, the balance to various bodies including the division which includes France 24 and RFI as well as the Arte group”.
Officials in the media sector fear a politicization of funding, the daily adds.
“The government was thinking of support simply from the ordinary state budget. In France as elsewhere, it is the model that most worries radio and TV managers, because it subjects their envelopes to highly politicized debates, every year”.
France compared to its European neighbors
In Switzerland, where this same fee brings in 1.3 billion francs a year, the debate has dragged on for a decade, while in the United Kingdom, where the BBC is financed solely by this levy and sales abroad, a Boris Johnson’s recent decision proposes to abolish it by 2027.
France is thus following in the footsteps of other European countries that have taken the leap, such as Norway and Belgium.
Norway “switched to funding from the state budget with a five-year guarantee – a model that inspired the French president’s campaign team”noted Timewhile after the abolition of the fee in Flanders in 2002, Wallonia followed suit four years ago.