577 members of parliament met in the newly elected parliament.

170 votes were enough to abolish the fees for financing public broadcasters after a long night.

Only 57 MPs voted against.

The concern was a campaign promise by President Emmanuel Macron.

He gave it up to take an argument out of the hands of right-wing candidates.

Marine Le Pen, Eric Zemmour and Valérie Pécresse not only announced the end of fees, but also the partial or total privatization of public broadcasters.

Juerg Altwegg

Freelance writer in the feuilleton.

  • Follow I follow

A few months ago, Macron could not have imagined that the proposal would trigger a heated debate in Parliament.

After his election in 2017, he still described the broadcaster as a "disgrace to the republic".

He gave no further thought to its financing, not even until now, since the fee will be abolished.

Where will the money come from then?

Practically at the last moment, it was decided to take 3.7 billion euros out of the VAT pot for the broadcasters.

Populists against the Elite

The battle for public broadcasting is not only being waged in Parliament, it is also raging on the broadcasters.

The planned merger of radio and television meets with resistance.

At France Télévisions, 80 percent of the workforce signed a vote of no confidence in the political editor-in-chief.

Radio and television stars protested in a video message.

"We are at the end of a ten-year austerity cycle," director Delphine Ernotte said in front of Parliament.

Shortly after Macron moved into the Elysée, almost ninety percent of the workforce had protested against them.

"Further restrictions would lead to a reduction in supply," she now warns.

The dismantling has already started.

After the summer holidays, the late news of the third programs FR3 will be discontinued.

One can justify this with the program's mandate: it maintains the focus on regional reporting.

But thanks to its calmness, the show was an enrichment at a broadcasting time that has gained in importance since the pandemic and the war.

At 10 p.m. politics is usually only in the weekly magazines and news and debates only on the news channels - the three most important ones belong to the media groups.

The dispute over the fees reflects the conflict between the populists and the elite.

The state broadcasters have this firmly in their hands.

This is shown by the origins and careers of those responsible.

The programs, meanwhile, have improved in quality and – under pressure from the populist parties – have become more pluralistic.

In the meantime, there is less arrogant commenting and teaching.

But the bosses' dependency on the power to which they owe their job has remained.

And yet every head of state has exerted influence.

The idea of ​​abolishing fees is old

The idea of ​​abolishing the fee is old and an expression of the will to control the broadcasters.

Macron's justification for their abolition - "to promote purchasing power" - is outrageous.

If something is socially unjust, it is VAT, not a license fee.

Politicians always wanted to get back to them.

In 2019, then-budget minister Gérald Darmanin tried.

He failed because of the resistance of the Minister of Culture.

In revenge, Darmanin pushed through a reduction in fees of one euro per year in parliament.

The best thing about the vote in Parliament was the debate it sparked.

The tabloid "Le Parisien" took the topic to the front page and explained why the fee - modeled on the BBC - even exists.

And suddenly people in France are interested with rare curiosity about the regulations in the neighboring countries of Germany and Italy.

The “Scandinavian model” of tax financing is up for discussion.