Flagship measure. The object of all the questions and all the concerns within the public audiovisual sector, the abolition of the television license fee was voted this Saturday morning in the National Assembly at first reading, as part of the measures to support the power of purchase. MPs passed the article by 170 votes in favor and 57 against – mainly from the left.
Amendments from the majority and LR were adopted to allocate to public broadcasting “a fraction” of VAT, for an amount of around 3.7 billion euros, in order to respond to concerns about its funding.
During this often turbulent session, the Minister in charge of Public Accounts Gabriel Attal expressed his attachment to “a strong public audiovisual sector”, while qualifying the current fee as an “obsolete tool”. “We assume to remove taxes that weigh on the French,” he continued.
A bad idea “
The main objections came from the ranks of the leftist alliance Nupes, where many speakers notably highlighted the risks for the independence of the public service. For Inaki Echeniz (PS), this deletion is a “bad idea”, while Alexis Corbière (LFI) stressed that guaranteeing “the independence of public broadcasting is a condition of democracy”.
The RN, for its part, called for going further than the abolition of the fee, by privatizing public broadcasting. “A great democracy like ours no longer needs a public service,” said Caroline Parmentier. Culture Minister Rima Abdul Malak argued that “it is not the license fee that guarantees independence” but Arcom (ex-CSA), the body that appoints the leaders of public broadcasting companies .
Nearly 23 million households affected
Promised by Emmanuel Macron during the last presidential campaign, this tax amounting to 138 euros, brings in 3.7 billion euros each year to the State. It is used to finance the public audiovisual media of France Télévisions, Radio France, France Médias Monde, Arte, INA and TV5 Monde.
All households equipped with a television, or “similar device”, i.e. in 2022, 27.61 million households who are subject to it and 22.89 million actually pay it, according to a report by the Jean-Jaurès Foundation and the Economist Julia Cagé.