A breath of fresh air for a sector in great difficulty. Very weakened by the coronavirus health crisis, the written press will benefit from aid totaling 483 million euros over two years, said the Elysee Palace, part of which has already been voted.
This aid was presented at the end of a meeting between Emmanuel Macron and a dozen leaders of national and regional dailies, received Thursday evening at the Elysee Palace, in the presence of ministers Bruno Le Maire (Economy) and Roselyne Bachelot (Culture ). The Head of State pledged last year to help the sector overcome the challenges of the digital transition but the epidemic and its impact on advertising revenue, number distribution and newsstand sales have further worsened the situation.
The executive therefore decided on emergency measures, voted on July 30, to help the most affected actors (newsagents, overseas titles, publishers) for a total of 106 million euros, recalled the presidency.
Sustain freelancers
To consolidate the future of the press, the State will also put in place a plan of 377 million over two years, in particular to support the ecological and digital transitions of the sector.
In particular, a new tax credit of 30% for subscriptions to a political and general information newspaper, voted in July, will cost the state around 60 million euros per year. New aid for pluralism will be created for the online press and overseas titles.
Appropriations of 18 million per year will accompany the printing press reform and a strategic fund for innovation will be increased by 50 million euros per year. These subsidies will be added to the 840 million annual aid to the press.
The executive in exchange asked the press groups to reduce the precariousness of their employees, in particular freelancers, photojournalists or cartoonists. The meeting finally addressed the issue of the application of legislation on neighboring rights, this contribution for the use of the press that Google refuses to pay, a dead end for the moment.
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