In 2022, this tax brought in 3.2 billion euros, out of the 3.8 billion paid to public broadcasting.
One more step has been taken towards the abolition of the audiovisual license fee. Emmanuel Macron’s campaign promise, this measure was recently ratified by the National Assembly and the senators have just validated it in turn. Monday evening, during the examination of the amending budget 2022, article 1, which includes this modification, was voted by 196 votes against 147.
In this second part of the measures to support purchasing power, the discussion of which will continue on Tuesday, the Upper Assembly dominated by the right voted to abolish it after a lively debate -“rotten“, according to Roger Karoutchi (LR) – on the financing and independence of public broadcasting. Culture Minister Rima Abdul Malak announced on this occasion “the government’s desire to propose a one-year extension of the contracts of objectives and means of public audiovisual companies“. This in order toto take the time necessary to build together the roadmap for public broadcasting“.
Amounting to 138 euros in mainland France and 88 euros overseas this year, the fee brought in 3.2 billion euros out of the 3.8 billion paid to public broadcasting. The text plans to allocate to the public audiovisual sector “a fractionof VAT, for an amount of approximately 3.7 billion euros, in order to respond to concerns about its financing. The Senate adopted an amendment by the general rapporteur Jean-François Husson (LR) to limit this assignment to December 31, 2024. The Minister of Public Accounts Gabriel Attal relied on the “wisdomof the Senate on this point.
The left opposed to suppression
The solution proposed by the National Assemblycan only be temporary“, estimated Jean-François Husson, who criticized the government for having “sent the end credits before the program started“. “The truth is that we are still waiting for the audiovisual reform, with a debate on the substance“, insisted Roger Karoutchi. “We agree to abolish the license fee, the question is how we are going to finance public broadcasting tomorrow“Asked Laurent Lafon, centrist president of the Culture Committee. His group wanted the deletion to be postponed for a year.
The three left-wing groups unsuccessfully opposed the removal, with David Assouline blaming the government for “create the conditions for weakeningof the public audiovisual sector. “We care very deeply about public broadcasting and therefore about its funding“, affirmed the socialist Jean-Pierre Sueur, while acknowledging that the royalty”today is obsolete“.
This point voted, the debates on the rest of the text continue. Senators have until tonight to consider the 354 amendments remaining out of the 554 amendments tabled.
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