The Renaissance MP announces that he will present Monday evening “a proposal for an organic law” which will guarantee the “financial independence” of public broadcasting.
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The Renaissance deputy Quentin Bataillon, rapporteur for the information mission on the future of public broadcasting, tries to reassure Monday May 13 on franceinfo, while the reform project is worrying. After the establishment of a holding company in 2025, the government wants a pure and simple merger of public broadcasting companies (including France Télévisions and Radio France) on January 1, 2026, according to a government amendment tabled on Friday May 10, and which will be submitted to deputies in committee from Tuesday May 14.
“The ambition of the President of the Republic, the Minister of Culture and the parliamentary majority is not savings”, affirms on franceinfo the elected representative Renaissance, who will play a leading role in this reform. It is contested by the unions of France Télévisions and Radio France, who are calling for a strike on May 23 and 24. On these days, the text already adopted by the Senate will be examined in the Assembly.
To support his point, Quentin Bataillon cites the “40 million [d’euros] moreover” allocated to Radio France in 2024. In total, the allocation allocated by the State to the public company exceeds 640 million euros, 15 of which are conditional on the achievement of strategic transformation objectives. Currently, a fraction of VAT is allocated to financing public broadcasting, a mechanism which is due to end in 2025.
Quentin Bataillon announces that he will present a proposal for an organic law on Monday evening within the Renaissance group office, “pushed by the President of the Republic and the Minister of Culture”, Who “will create independence, financial guarantee for public broadcasting in the coming years”. Concretely, it will “revise the public finance organization law” For “create what is called a revenue levy”. “In the same way as local authorities, in the same way as the European Union, public broadcasting, tomorrow, will not wait for the State to pay it the money, it will take it”he explains. “No country will protect public broadcasting funding as much as France,” says Quentin Bataillon.
“Television is not going to eat up radio”
If Parliament continues toe “decide each year on the amount invested for public broadcasting”the government “will not be able to call into question over the year the amounts voted for public broadcasting”. “The law will not solve everything”recognizes the one who was rapporteur for the information mission on the future of public broadcasting. “There are many things that will be done within the framework of consultations, within the framework of discussions, particularly with the trade union organizations.” Quentin Battalion “confirmed” that the objective of the public broadcasting reform project “is initially the holding company”a structure to oversee these different entities “which foreshadows the merger in 2026” of France Télévisions, Radio France, Ina and France Médias monde, namely RFI and France 24.
And “television is not going to eat up radio”, replies Quentin Bataillon to the CEO of Radio France, Sibyle Veil, who is opposed to the merger. “In this new house of public broadcasting, grouped, strengthened, radio is an important center and I think that this will be precisely the subject of this reform”he says. “It is not specified in the law” but the Radio France brands, notably franceinfo, “will always exist”assures the MP who reveals his international ambitions for franceinfo: “I am also pushing for Franceinfo to possibly replace France 24”declares Quentin Bataillon.