It was one of Emmanuel Macron’s wishes for his second term, the TV license fee will be abolished this year. A saving of 138 euros per year for French households, but a shortfall of 3 billion for public broadcasting.
It is confirmed, in accordance with Emmanuel Macron’s campaign promise, the audiovisual license fee will indeed be abolished… and this from 2022. ” The contribution to public broadcasting will be permanently abolished this year and the financing of public broadcasting will be ensured in compliance with the constitutional objective of pluralism and independence of the media.“, indicated Bruno Le Maire, Minister of the Economy, whose remarks were reported to us by Le Figaro.
This deletion would be ratified during the second half of the year, through the new amending finance bill (PLFR). The 2022 vintage of this project must indeed be presented after the legislative elections, which will be held in mid-June.
138 euros per year to pay less for the French
The abolition of the audiovisual license fee is a blessing in disguise. In a context of inflation and a sharp rise in the prices of consumer goods, this measure should make it possible to improve the purchasing power of the French by removing a fee amounting to 138 euros per year. The abolition of this tax will however weigh seriously on the finances of public broadcasting, by generating an annual shortfall estimated at more than 3 billion euros net.
This large budget has until now contributed to financing public domain TV and radio groups, including France Télévisions, Radio France, Arte and France Medias Monde. A mechanism will therefore have to be found to compensate for this shortfall. It is on this point that the government is now expected, especially since the abolition of the audiovisual license fee could carry with it the risk of a loss of independence of the public media vis-à-vis the State, recallsLe Figaro.
…but 3 billion euros to be compensated in the coffers of public broadcasting
During Emmanuel Macron’s campaign, the government, however, wanted to reassure through Gabriel Attal. “We need strong public broadcasting in a context of misinformation, in a context where the digital giants circulate information that is not always sourced, we need public broadcasting because it also participates in French creation. We will continue to finance it, to guarantee its means, its independence“, had declared in particular the spokesman of the government on France Inter.
Still, the government has not yet indicated on what mechanism it intends to rely to compensate for the abolition of the audiovisual license fee. At this stage, we only know that the General Inspectorate of Finance (IGF) and the General Inspectorate of Cultural Affairs (Igac), were asked by the executive in October 2021 to find alternative funding.
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