Cécile Lagé, the deputy general director of Française des Jeux, defended herself against accusations from the France Nature Environnement association of being a large beneficiary of the Biodiversity Loto.
“The first winner is the player, the second is the cause”explains on franceinfo the deputy general director of Française des Jeux, while the government is launching a Biodiversity Loto on Monday, October 23.
The scratch game, available at Française des Jeux points of sale, aims to raise 6 million euros for the French Office for Biodiversity (OFB), in order to finance around twenty projects.
Cécile Lagé defended herself against accusations from the France Nature Environnement association of being a large beneficiary of this new system. “Of the 3 euros of the ticket, 66% goes to the players, 14% to the cause [43 centimes]”, “our objective is to sell 14 million tickets, for 6 million donated to the French Biodiversity Office”quantified the director.
For its part, the France Nature Environnement association denounces “biodiversity scam.”
Lower risk of addiction
“When we address a cause as broad as this, we reach players who are not used to playing, and who play to contribute individually to the cause“, estimated Cécile Lagé. “This is not an audience of addicts“, “scratch tickets cover a very broad clientele and make it possible to make a cause accessible and raise awareness among the general public.“
“Around twenty projects were selected, including 6 emblematic projects such as the protection of the Hauts-de-Somme peatlands or the protection of Posidonia [forêts sous-marines qui servent de nurserie aux poissons] in the Mediterranean“, continues the deputy director of the FDJ.
“These projects have a real footprint at the regional level, both in mainland France and overseas”
Cécile Lagé
at franceinfo
14 other projects were also selected. Among them, the protection of bearded vultures, a bird of prey present in the Alps, the Massif Central and the Pyrenees. It takes 400,000 euros to preserve them, the equivalent of 900,000 tickets sold solely for this cause. “A totally achievable goal“, for Cécile Lagé.
A confusion between gambling and general interest
“This is not how we should finance biodiversity“, insists France Nature Environnement. With the Biodiversity Loto, “we are confusing gambling and financing actions of general interest, that is not how we should finance biodiversity“, denounces Antoine Gatet on franceinfo.
Of the three euros of the ticket, only 43 cents goes to financing biodiversity. “When you give three euros to France Nature Environnement, three euros go entirely to protecting biodiversity.“, reacts the president of the association, who has decided not to participate in the initiative.
Antoine Gatet also believes that the stated objective of 6 million euros is far too low.
“We need 500 to 600 million euros per year to finance biodiversity”
Antoine Gatet
at franceinfo
“These arewe would prefer that the State take the time to look for them in the taxation of kerosene in France for example“, pleads the president of FNE.
The argument put forward by the State, which also wants to raise awareness of the issue of biodiversity via this new kind of lottery, does not convince Antoine Gatet either. “We use smarter ways to raise awareness, on the ground, without using gambling“, he assures.