2023-05-31 14:18:52
A few days before Justine Triet put on the red carpet the threats hanging over the cinema and the interference of the industry in the freedom of film creation – thereby attracting the wrath of those who believe, wrongly, that the seventh French art is fed with public subsidies – the deputy (LFI) Sarah Legrain presented Thursday, May 25 a bill to cap the price of places in dark rooms. A measure which, in an inflationary context, intends to put questions of access to culture back at the heart of public debate. And revitalize, at the same time, a sector that is slowly picking up color in terms of attendance.
Why introduce this bill in an economic context marked by inflation?
This measure was part of the program of the Nupes, but there is a sense that it is mentioned in the Assembly now. Because when you see the inflation figures, that for the poorest 10%, 77% of income is spent on food, housing and transportation, it is clear that people will have to make choices. However, the risk is that the most precarious citizens deprive themselves of cultural outings. Admittedly, we hear talk of purchasing power, but we hear less or even nothing at all about the impact that inflation can have on access to culture, that as members of the Nupes, we consider as an essential good.
This proposal is therefore a way of putting issues of access to cultural property on the table. Then we did the calculations. For a family of four living in a medium-sized city, and who would like to go to a multiplex, it takes 50 euros just for the tickets, and 75 euros with the 4DX option. And then if you add the popcorn, count between 4 euros and 8 euros more. If you factor in gasoline, it still goes up. So that in the end, the exit costs between 58 and 87 euros. Which is unthinkable when 82% of French people say they are unable to save at the end of the month.
In October, Jérôme Seydoux, the president of Pathé, said in an interview with France Inter that the increase in the price of cinema tickets was almost inevitable, even desirable to support the sector…
I do not find it acceptable that this increase be presented as a fatality, even as a wish. Because ultimately, behind that, it’s a whole model of cinema that is defended: that of an exceptional and extremely expensive release, in theaters offering more and more options. But this is not a model to be satisfied with.
Today, the average price of a cinema ticket amounts to 7 euros. But in fact, 38% of tickets are much more expensive and increase the average price. The prices of some places peak at more than double this average price, and can reach 17 euros. However, a study by the CNC published in May 2022 showed that the price of tickets is, for all audiences combined, the second cause that dissuades spectators from going to the cinema. Among the 35-46 year olds, it is even the first. So it is imperative to cap above this average price of 7 euros and put a stop to this soaring price which is not desirable.
The first part of this proposal is therefore this famous ceiling on the price of cinema tickets, set in consultation with the CNC. It’s a way for us to encourage people to find the dark rooms. Because if going out is financially a luxury, it becomes extremely occasional: we no longer take the risk of going to see a film which, on paper, does not transport us, but which could surprise us. And that is problematic for cinema attendance.
Besides this ceiling supposed to boost attendance, what else do you intend to put in place?
When we talk about revitalization, it is in fact a question of strengthening the redistributive model on which French cinema is based. We would like this to go through the introduction of a tax on confectionery and snack bars, up to 10.72%, the same as that applied to ticketing (the TSA), and that it too be paid at the CNC. The idea of this proposal is also to open negotiations, or at least discussions, on other types of so-called ancillary revenue, which are advertising revenue. Article three of our bill therefore proposes the sharing of these revenues between exhibitors, distributors, the State and artist authors. A way to strengthen all sectors of the industry.
But the question that arises is above all that of the cinema that we want. The objective of this proposal is to retain occasional spectators, betting on the popular and addictive character of the seventh art. It’s about getting them to go see a variety of films, in a variety of theaters. And for that, it is necessary to put an end to a surge in prices that is sometimes prohibitive. Because access to dark rooms is a question of freedom and emancipation. This is why the political discourse must take hold of this question of access to culture which, for the time being, is a social issue absent from the ambient concerns.
#film #theaters #luxury #Liberation