Financing, RN project… After the dissolution of the Assembly, four questions on the future of public broadcasting reform

Since the dissolution of the National Assembly on Sunday, all parliamentary work has been suspended. Several planned reforms are therefore possibly postponed or compromised, such as that of public broadcasting.

What will become of the public broadcasting reform now that parliamentary work is suspended, after the dissolution of the National Assembly on Sunday June 9? Does it have a chance of seeing the light of day? The project is not completely buried but its passage in public session will not take place on June 24, as was initially planned. Franceinfo takes stock of the challenges of this reform which could be disrupted by the results of the next legislative elections.

Can the reform still come into force?

For the reform to actually be examined a little later, the Renaissance party will have to win the legislative elections and regain the majority in the Assembly. Or that the winner puts this text back on the agenda, which could be done by the Republicans, in favor of a merger between Radio France, France Télévisions and the National Audiovisual Institute (INA), but the right-wing party seems badly off to win these early elections.

In all other cases, the reform of public broadcasting is obsolete, abandoned, null and void. The left was against it, so it will not take it up, and the National Rally was ready to vote for it but for lack of anything better.

What does the RN want to do?

The RN actually wants to go further than the merger and wants the privatization of public broadcasting, in accordance with Marine Le Pen’s presidential project in 2022. Sébastien Chenu, one of his lieutenants, confirmed Monday that their will does not had not changed: they intend to launch a call for tenders in order to recover 3 billion euros from the state coffers. This sum corresponds to the 2024 budget for Radio France and France Télévisions, the only companies that the RN wants to privatize. The INA, for its part, would remain public.

Who are the potential buyers in the event of privatization?

In this scenario, the potential buyers would be the same billionaires who are gradually investing in the media: Rodolphe Saadé, who is in the process of buying BFM, Daniel Kretinsky, candidate for a frequency on TNT or Xavier Niel, who does not failed to seize channel 6 in place of M6. Vincent Bolloré could also be in the running, provided that he sells some of his channels because he already owns seven on TNT, the maximum authorized.

What happens to the text on the financing of public broadcasting?

The text is, at best, put on hold. It provided for a levy on state revenues starting next year. If it is thrown in the trash, and pending a possible privatization which will take time, we do not know how the public media will be financed, once the current mechanism disappears, that is to say at the end of 2024 Since the cessation of the fee two years ago, a fraction of the VAT has been levied.