Socialist deputies announced on Friday that they had tabled a bill for "an audiovisual, universal and progressive contribution" to finance public broadcasting rather than the abolition of the fee promised by Emmanuel Macron.

"The government's arguments in favor of its simple abolition are not sincere", denounce the elected representatives of the socialist and related group, proposing a new architecture "inspired by Scandinavian models".

Patrick Kanner, Julia Cage, Boris Vallaud…

This initiative is supported by socialist senators, such as Patrick Kanner, but also Julia Cagé, professor of economics at Sciences-Po Paris and specialist in media economics, who co-sign with deputies including Boris Vallaud, a tribune in Liberation.

If they recognize that the fee, "unfair and obsolete, must be reformed and modernized", the signatories believe that "the end of this allocated resource amounts to submitting, each year, the public audiovisual sector to the goodwill of the government".

A measure that would benefit 85% of households

Instead, the bill proposes to "replace the current system with an earmarked and progressive contribution according to the level of income of citizens, the amount and allocation of which will be controlled by an independent body".

"This solution is more socially just by allowing to really increase the purchasing power of the French, more modern because it no longer applies only to television and secures long-term funding for public broadcasting", affirms the text.

This measure “would lower the amount of the fee for 85% of households.

For the 12 million most modest households, for example, it would cost between 0 and 30 euros, compared to 138 euros today,” according to the signatories.

Multi-year budget

For Emmanuel Macron, the fee – which finances France Télévisions, Radio France, INA, TV5 Monde and France Médias Monde – does not guarantee the independence of these media since their budgets are supplemented by the State to the tune of “several hundred millions of euros per year" for ten years.

He proposed during the campaign to set up a multi-annual budget to finance public broadcasting, in order to guarantee its independence.

Paid by households that own a television set, the fee should bring in 3.2 billion euros this year.

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  • Socialist Party (PS)

  • Royalty fee

  • Public audiovisual

  • French Radio

  • France Televisions