The mixed results of Franck Riester, Minister of Culture

Audio 02:29

By: Amaury de Rochegonde Follow

Franck Riester is preparing to leave the Ministry of Culture with a mixed record despite his perfect mastery of the field of communication and the media.

Publicity

It was not the choice of the president, but of his Prime Minister, Édouard Philippe, whose departure only confirms what is today taken for granted: Franck Riester will undoubtedly not be prolonged at the Ministry of Culture. Man will surely experience a certain bitterness as he is convinced that he has worked at best in his chosen field, that of communication and the media. He often recalled that he had brought several bills which made it possible in particular to transpose into French law the directive on neighboring rights requiring digital giants to pay to take over press content.

He also tackled the reform of the Bichet law on press distribution which led this week to the creation of France Messagerie, this company which replaces Presstalis and receives state aid of 80 million d euros to support a social plan of 512 employees. We also owe him the creation of the National Music Center or, upon his arrival, an agreement on the chronology of the media which made it possible to reconcile Canal + with the cinema.

Passed into the background during the health crisis

But Franck Riester did not manage to complete his most ambitious project: the audiovisual reform which was supposed to bring together public audiovisual companies, to impose on internet platforms to contribute to the funding of creation and to merge the CSA with the High Authority for the Protection of Works, Hadopi. It must be said that the pandemic arrived at the time when this bill was to be brought to the Senate. A virus which besides struck Franck Riester personally and made him lose precious time.

However, it is especially during this phase that the action of the Minister is most criticized. While the cultural industries are sectors particularly affected by the crisis, he appeared in the background in the picture, taking notes, facing a Macron announcing himself a white year for the intermittent of the show, allowing them to postpone their rights. It was not until Wednesday that the minister finally made a quantified assessment of his support actions. In all, 5 billion euros, mainly in partial unemployment and guaranteed loans, but 1.6 billion nevertheless for communication and the media.

Too late, however, to appease cultural circles who saw him too attentive to audiovisual groups and not sufficiently concerned with artists. A sign ? The future decree on cinema TV advertising, which was to be reserved for half for arthouse films, no longer has any constraints so as not to displease the channels.

Newsletter Receive all international news directly in your mailbox

Follow all international news by downloading the RFI application

• Media
• France