Through the voice of its director general of antennas and programs, Gérald-Brice Viret, Canal + recalled, Monday on Europe 1, that he was "attached to Ligue 1", including the call for tenders for TV rights takes place on Monday.

For the leader, it is also a question of inviting the clubs to "reform" in a very tense economic context.

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French football is going through a decisive week, after months of crisis: at the beginning of February, the Professional Football League will indeed reassign the broadcasting of its competitions, in particular Ligue 1, after the Mediapro fiasco.

Canal + could respond Monday morning to the call for tenders launched by the LFP.

Without confirming this participation, Gérald-Brice Viret, general manager of the antennas and programs of the group, hammered on Europe 1 that the channel was "very attached to Ligue 1".

"Give the right price"

Canal +, which challenges the legality of this call for tenders before the Paris Commercial Court, claims in any case to be "there to help" the clubs.

The group rejects the idea that it wants to give as little money as possible to the players in the French championship, already hit hard by the coronavirus crisis.

"We want to give the right price," said Gerald-Brice Viret.

"We are there to help the clubs, even to reform if necessary. Everyone needs to reform. We are there to support and we are also there to defend our position. We too are a company French, even though we are present in 40 countries around the world. We are also there to justify each expense to our shareholder. "

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Frankly, it would be ideal to get along

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If he therefore excludes a rescue of French football by Canal +, the leader insisted that "the objective is to find the right price" with the LFP.

"Frankly, it would be ideal to get along," he said, while mentioning the good relationship between the encrypted channel and the new governance of professional football.

"We have confidence in the leaders of the LFP and its president, Vincent Labrune."

VAT, subject "not at all linked" to TV rights

Concretely, the LFP will reallocate the TV rights of 80% of Ligue 1 and Ligue 2, which Téléfoot held until now, via the Mediapro group.

Around the president of the LFP Vincent Labrune, Jean-Michel Aulas (Lyon), Jacques-Henri Eyraud (Marseille), Jean-Pierre Caillot (Reims), Christian Leca (Ajaccio / L2) and Philippe Piat (UNFP union) will form a committee pilot responsible for studying the offers in the afternoon.

If the offers exceed the reserve prices set by the League - and the candidates offer sufficient guarantees - the prizes (four for L1, two for L2) will be awarded and the lucky ones will take over from Téléfoot from the 5th February.

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On Europe 1, Gérald-Brice Viret also brushed aside the idea that Canal + was reluctant to position itself in this call for tenders because of two other subjects: the expected increase in VAT applied to the group and the relaxation of the media timeline requested by the encrypted channel.

"The subjects are in no way related", underlined the leader, evoking "close" but "serene" discussions with Bercy on these very sensitive questions.