Address by Frédéric Mitterrand, Minister of Culture and Communication, on the occasion of the signing of the Convention for the Development of the Kiosk Network

A kiosk or a press broadcaster that opens is a link actor
a place of sociability and encounters
to which we give life, it is a chance we give for the exercise of the
democracy. As you can appreciate, the signing of this convention is
my eyes a cultural and political significance: in the era of
the work of sociologists, in a “society”
screens” is a strong signal in favour of writing and social relations
that is launched.

I look forward to meeting you today for the signing of a convention
marking the commitment of my ministry, that of local elected officials through
the Association of Mayors of France (AMF), and of the united profession
around the Conseil Supérieur des Messageries de Presse.

This commitment is the culmination of substantive work undertaken
more than a year after the States General of the written press. He
one of the concerns expressed by the President of the
Republic on access to information and press dissemination.
Thanks to the dynamism of Mediakiosk, the network of kiosks has experienced these
In recent years, there has been a marked increase in activity. Close to 70
since 2007. In 2010 alone, there were no fewer than
33 new locations. The renewal of the Paris network, which includes
341 kiosks open to the public, compared to 268 in 2005
set an example for all the municipalities in France.

The press stand is getting a nice makeover at a time when the
of the network of broadcasters is still struggling to stabilize, as the
working conditions have not yet found the balance point
at the end of the Estates General. The broadcasting profession suffers from
erosion of sales, it suffers competition from points of sale
complementary, which do not have the press as a professional activity
The period of profound change experienced by the press
challenges the historical balances of the profession. This is a
transition that we have the duty to accompany. And because a
neighborhood without newspaper merchant is a neighborhood without life, the ministry
Culture and Communication intends to contribute by all the
means for the preservation and development of the network.

That is why I decided a few weeks ago to renew an aid
for 8,000 specialized press broadcasters, for a
amount of more than 12 M , or an average individual envelope that
will be around €1500, depending on the degree of specialisation of the beneficiary.

However, it is important that this budget support be accompanied by
measures. This is the purpose of the announced modernization of the
regulation of the industry, it’s the sense of effort we have
dedicated to the recovery of Presstalis through the
aid for the distribution of national dailies. The
Government in favour of the development of press stands
is part of the same logic.

In a general context of profound reforms, the
relaunch of the kiosks is started and I wish, with you, thanks to our
The European Union has a common commitment to provide it with the guarantee of a long-term anchor.

Because the presence of kiosks is a significant response to the crisis of
local shops, especially those for cultural businesses
under increasing pressure from land prices, including
in city centres. The kiosk, by nature, not only bypasses
this difficulty; moreover – thanks to a diversified business model
supported by the display - it cleverly resists the decline in sales of
recorded press in the last two years.

Our goal is ambitious, but I think it’s achievable. It’s to
install more than 300 new kiosks across the territory
over three years, an increase of nearly 40%.
that we have set ourselves are clear and can be summarized in three
points:
1.on the one hand, it is a question of improving the general situation of kiosks, which
are self-employed and who, as you know, work
often under difficult conditions. The model must be strengthened
and make the profession more attractive. This is an objective
shared with the entire network of specialty broadcasters.
2.on the other hand, I wish, as the President of the Republic had
after the States General, a clarification and simplification
procedures for installing kiosks. This clarification of the
public domain must result in the publication of a charter
information disseminated by the AMF to all its members, in
collaboration with the Conseil supérieur des Messageries de Presse
(CSMP). To truly appeal to local communities, we must
we rely on legible, homogeneous installation procedures,
freed from obstacles that still slow down education too often
files, when they do not discourage the candidate communes.
3.finally, a financing plan which includes a contribution
The public sector must be implemented in order to accelerate network deployment.

The work of the focus groups that brought together the AMF, the CSMP, and the
Ministry of Culture and Communication, have already helped advance
on the way to a simplification of procedures which should result in
the legislative framework. They also made it possible to
to define the general framework of the financing plan necessary for
300 new kiosks. I proposed that part of the
funding provided through the Modernization Fund
daily press, the FDM. I want to thank the publishers who have already
contributed, in 2010, to fund the first phase of a project that will, I
wishes, renewed over the next two years.

The signing of this agreement formalizes and consolidates our first
initiatives. This is an important step. It gives me the opportunity to
the importance that I attach to the trade of kiosk, a
In many neighbourhoods, this profession provides a social link for
the whole community and a place of dialogue for many
isolated people, especially the elderly. So it is
duty to support, preserve and enhance this business, which does not
only to the attractiveness of neighbourhoods and territories, but also to the
diversity of access to information and media pluralism in our
country.

I therefore warmly thank President Jacques
PELISSARD and President Jean-Pierre ROGER for their
commitment to my department. I would also like to commend the
contribution of the press publishers who have enabled this
be born.

This signature translates, everyone feels, the attachment
of public authorities, and mine in particular, in this
cement and connection between the inhabitants, this profession which can do as well
display of the “threatening headlines” in the daily newspapers described by Roger
Martin du Gard in Les Thibault at the same time as
beautiful literary vocations, like the talented Jean Rouault.

Thank you.