VZCZCXRO9852
RR RUEHIK RUEHPOD RUEHYG
DE RUEHFR #3414/01 2261525
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 141525Z AUG 07
FM AMEMBASSY PARIS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9500
INFO RUEHZG/NATO EU COLLECTIVE
RUEHMRE/AMCONSUL MARSEILLE 1875
RUEHSR/AMCONSUL STRASBOURG 0476

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PARIS 003414 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EUR/PPD, EUR/WE, INR, R 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV KPAO OPRC FR
SUBJECT: SARKOZY'S SHAKE-UP OF FRENCH PUBLIC BROADCASTING 
 
PARIS 00003414  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
Sensitive but unclassified.  Please protect accordingly. 
 
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SUMMARY 
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¶1. (SBU) French public radio and television, long a stable and 
dominant force in the French media scene, looks set to make some 
changes in the coming year.  We expect these changes will leave it 
with a leaner management structure and with at least some 
overlapping functions eliminated in an effort to "right-size" French 
public electronic media.  President Sarkozy's early August mission 
letter to Minister of culture Albanel set out the broad issues, but 
the details of any changes have yet to emerge, and are unlikely to 
be clear before late fall.  End Summary. 
 
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SARKOZY'S OPTIONS FOR CHANGE -- WHERE'S THE MONEY? 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
¶2. (SBU) In his mission letter to the Minister of Culture, President 
Sarkozy said that he would like "a more modern public television 
with a stronger identity, enhanced by a wide range of more creative 
and audacious cultural offerings."  At the heart of any proposed 
changes, however, lies the issue of public television financing.  In 
an August 3 interview on BFM radio, France Television CEO Patrick de 
Carolis suggested two possible sources for increased funding: 
either raising the household license fee (currently 116 euros per 
year per household); or adding commercial breaks in the evening. 
(Note:  De Carolis pointed out that the BBC charges nearly twice as 
much for licensing fees and claimed that an extra commercial break 
in the evening could bring in roughly 20 billion euros in additional 
revenue per year.  End Note.)  A poll published August 13 in Le 
Parisien found that 86 percent of the public were opposed to an 
increase in the licensing fee, while only 53 percent were opposed to 
an increase in commercial breaks -- and 45 percent (mostly the 
under-40 crowd) actually supported additional commercials.  A senior 
editor from one of the public television channels told us, however, 
that he believed adding more commercial breaks would no longer fit 
the image of "public service." 
 
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RIGHT-SIZING PUBLIC TELEVISION? 
------------------------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) France Televisions includes the five national television 
channels (France2, France3, France4, France5 and FranceO) as well as 
the satellite network Reseau France Outre-Mer (RFO).  In addition to 
France Televisions, the public audiovisual sector includes TV5 
Monde, France 24 (the French public equivalent of CNN, which 
broadcasts in French, English and Arabic) and Radio France 
International (RFI, the French equivalent of Voice of America).  The 
public media sector thus includes considerable overlap, and the 
three major proposals for "right-sizing" the sector focus on 
exploiting potential cost-savings.  One option would be to set up a 
holding company that would run TV5 Monde, France 24 and RFI; this 
option currently appears the simplest to implement and the least 
likely to run into serious political opposition.  The second option 
would be to appoint a common president for all of the various 
entities without reorganizing them into a holding company (an option 
journalists, including well-plugged-in Le Figaro editorialists, 
believe that the MFA favors).  The third option would be a 
straightforward merger between France 24 and TV5 Monde -- although 
this option would clearly save the most money, staff at both TV5 
Monde and France 24 strongly oppose this idea. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Any changes in the French public television system will 
come later in the year.  The Minister of Culture will present a 
formal plan to the National Assembly no earlier than October, with a 
vote anticipated by the end of 2007.  Opposition politicians are 
already criticizing possible changes as a means for President 
Sarkozy to "tighten his grip on the media," pointing out that he 
already enjoys exceptionally close ties to, among others, France 
Televisions CEO Patrick de Carolis, TV5 Monde CEO Jacques Bonnemain 
and Radio France CEO Jean-Paul Cluzel. 
 
----------------------------- 
COMMENT:  CHANGE "INEVITABLE" 
----------------------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) Despite the absence of agreement about the future face of 
public television, Sarkozy has clearly set the reform process in 
motion and no one, however wedded to the status quo, doubts that he 
will succeed in making changes.  While some of the staff of the 
various entities have spoken out against reform, most senior players 
are discussing the "how" of change, not disputing whether or why it 
will take place.  As the Senior Editor at France 24 told us, RFI and 
France 24 already share correspondents.  It's clear that Sarkozy and 
 
PARIS 00003414  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
his government could gain considerable savings by streamlining the 
public media system -- and it's clear that journalists and the 
French public expect Sarkozy to get his way in his right-sizing 
plans. 
PEKALA