French parliamentarians vote to abolish the television license fee; The movement pushes fears for the issuer’s future independence

French lawmakers voted to end the television license fee as part of a bill aimed at addressing the country’s cost of living crisis, a move that raised fears about the future independence of French state broadcasters.

Under the bill, over 23 million French families will stop paying the annual tax, which is currently 138 euros (141 dollars). From October the fee will be exempted by families and all families who have paid in advance will be reimbursed.

The so-called “audiovisual redevance” finances French state radios since 1933 and broadcasters since 1948. It is currently the main source of income for France Télévisions, Radio France, the Franco-German station Arte and the international television channels France 24 and RFI. .

The government said the move would not threaten funding for state broadcasters and that the funding would be replaced by a slight increase in VAT. License fees totaled $ 3.1 billion in 2020, with the government adding an additional $ 666 million.

The 2022 budget is not in jeopardy, but there are fears that the state broadcasting sector could come under political pressure when funding for renegotiation arrives in the future, depending on the current government.

Employees of the state broadcaster went on strike for a day against the move on June 28 and are expected to take further industrial action in the fall.

Another industry issue is the plan to merge France Télévisions, Radio France, France Médias Monde and INA into a single public company called France Médias starting in 2025. The abolition of the license fee was seen as a step towards supporting this strategy.

France’s decision to eliminate the canon coincides with a similar debate in the UK, where the future of the BBC’s canon is currently under discussion and steps are being taken to privatize Channel 4 under the plans of the ruling Conservative Party government.