Paris (AFP)

The draft law on the audiovisual will include a merger of the CSA, the gendarme of the radio and the television, with Hadopi, the authority of fight against the piracy within a new structure with the reinforced powers, confirmed Tuesday the Minister of Culture Franck Riester.

This new authority will be responsible for both "the regulation of audiovisual communications and digital communications". It will be put in place, with a possible new name, after a transition phase whose duration and modalities are not yet known.

It will not be merged with Arcep, the telecom policeman, or the CNIL, two assumptions regularly made in recent months. But the reform provides for increased cooperation between the new authority and Arcep, with two common members (the new authority will appoint one of its members who will also sit on Arcep, and vice versa) and a common system for the settlement of different , which should better regulate the standoffs between telecom operators and television channels.

In this context, the new CSA, among a wide range of new powers, may take precautionary measures to prevent an operator removing chains from its boxes.

Franck Riester, speaking to the Association of Media Journalists (AJM), also said that the reform would introduce flexibilities in advertising and film on television, change the investment rules of channels and broadcasters. platforms in audiovisual and cinematographic creation, and modernize relations between producers and broadcasters, among other measures.

On the other hand, the minister, who had detailed on Monday these first axes of the audio-visual reform in front of professionals of the sector, did not reveal the arbitrations concerning the organization and the governance of the public service. On Tuesday, he assured that he would specify "in a few days", saying he wanted to "sequence" the presentation of his bill to give more visibility to other files.

In this regard, a source close to the file had told AFP Monday that the creation of a holding company bringing together the public broadcasting companies (France Televisions, Radio France, France World Media and INA), excluding Arte and TV5 Monde, was now recorded. The creation of such a "BBC à la française" had been in discussion for two years.

Mr. Riester, however, confirmed that the reform would remove the CSA's power to appoint the leaders of the public broadcasting, which should return to the boards of directors of the companies concerned as desired by the executive.

© 2019 AFP