French senators passed controversial government legislation that would eliminate the country’s 89-year-old television license on Tuesday morning after two hours of debate.
The 348-member upper house, in which center-right members hold the majority, supported the law with 196 votes to 147.
The stake, currently € 138 ($ 141) per year, will generate € 3.2 billion in 2022 and will take the lion’s share of France Télévisions, Radio France, the Franco-German broadcaster Arte and the international TV channels France 24. e In the financing of RFI.
Under the legislation, the 23 million French households who own TVs that currently pay the tax will not be billed this fall. The government proposes that sector financing be excluded from value added tax (VAT) revenues.
However, Tuesday’s vote also saw the Senate pass an amendment to the bill according to which the funding method could only be a temporary measure that runs until December 31, 2024.
The future of the canon, first introduced in 1933 to pay for radio services and extended to television in 1946, has been debated for nearly a decade amid the boom in digitization and multimedia viewing platforms.
However, the sudden decision to remove the tax followed an election promise made by President Emmanuel Macron during his re-election campaign in March.
Most senators who spoke on Monday evening agreed that the bill was “outdated” and needed to be revised, but many speakers expressed discontent at the drastic way in which it was repealed.
Center-right Senator Roger Carucci said the country’s state-owned audiovisual sector had been ripe for reform for years and the abolition of the license fee was only one aspect of that reform.
According to him, an in-depth debate and a parliamentary report on the future of the sector was necessary, defining its future “mission and perimeters”.
“Once these aspects are defined, we can define the finances, the means of financing and the framework,” he said.
Culture Minister Rima Adbul Malak, who took part in the debate, said the government remains committed to public sector broadcasting, but the sector faces a number of challenges, including declining viewership among younger audiences. distrust of the media and the rise of global platforms. .
He said that, as a sign of his commitment, the government has decided to maintain current objectives and funding levels for another year to allow time to “create a roadmap for the state audiovisual sector”.
The tax abolition bill is part of a supplementary budget package aimed at tackling the cost of living crisis. The Senate is rushing to vote on the entire package of measures in time for the parliamentary summer break from 7 to 24 August.
After the Senate has approved the package and exposed its amendments, it will return to the lower house for final approval.
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Source: Deadline
Elizabeth Cabrera is an author and journalist who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a talent for staying up-to-date on the latest news and trends, Elizabeth is dedicated to delivering informative and engaging articles that keep readers informed on the latest developments.
