“We must go further and faster” in the rapprochement between Radio France and France Télévisions, believes Senator Laurent Lafon

Guest on franceinfo on Wednesday, the senator from Val-de-Marne and chairman of the culture committee in the Senate believes that “single governance” means more “efficiency, because the line is clear”.

“We have to go further and faster” in the rapprochement between Radio France and France Télévisions, believes, on franceinfo, Wednesday March 13, Laurent Lafon, senator from Val-de-Marne (Centrist Union) and president of the committee on culture, education and communication in the Senate. The Minister of Culture, Rachida Dati, declared Tuesday during a hearing in the Senate that she wanted “a unique governance” public broadcasting this year. For Laurent Lafon, this “single governance” means more“efficiency, because the line is clear”.

“All public broadcasting players must make a strong and clear commitment to this rapprochement”, believes Laurent Lafon. Unlike Rachida Dati, he refuses to talk about “merger” and rather evokes a “holding which would bring together the different structures”. According to him, there is no “difference in terms of public service mission” between Radio France and France Télévisions. Moreover, “the sound and image professions are getting closer together due to technological developments”he says.

“We need to rethink the question of financing”

For the centrist senator, the priority is to review the financing arrangements for public broadcasting. “The system that was put in place following the abolition of the fee ends in 2024, so we must rethink the question of financing”parallel to that of “organization and governance”, he says. Without this, “public broadcasting would enter a period of vagueness and uncertainty”, he continues.

Laurent Lafon explains that “financial constraints are not linked to the mode of governance and organization”, but “to budgetary problems on the side of the State”. “The idea”, according to him, “it is to make the public service stronger, more powerful and in a certain way, more independent with the question of financing”.

Among the common public broadcasting projects, there is the development of artificial intelligence, the fight against false information and the real estate question, explains the senator who mentions the possibility of bringing together the France Bleu and France teams. 3 in the same premises to save money. “On these subjects, there is every interest not only in thinking, but also in investing together to be effective”indicates Laurent Lafon.

“The two texts, that on governance and organization as well as that on financing, should be studied in the National Assembly before the summer (…) so that they are operational by the end of the year”indicates the centrist elected official for whom “it’s doable”. The objective, according to him, is to integrate the financing of public broadcasting into the 2025 finance bill.