Paris, 8 January 2014
Cinéma Le Balzac
Dear Jean-Jacques Schpoliansky,
Dear René Bonnell,
Dear Frédérique Bredin,
Ladies and gentlemen, dear friends,
We can be proud that a little less than a year after the first meeting of Conference for the diversity of cinema On 23 January 2013, we are all once again united around a shared ambition: to give French cinema the means to continue its influence, with concrete proposals that come after a year of work, discussions and achievements.
So much has been accomplished in the past year!
Allow me to summarize, in a few minutes, the episodes that we experienced together and that trace the path, in part, of what we still have to go through collectively!
As you know, the pro-cinema policy which I intend to promote serves primarily a cultural diversity objective.
It was in the name of encouraging European film diversity that it was essential to win, on 14 June, the fight for the cultural exception, within the framework of the trade mandate between the European Union and the United States. Then, on November 13, after two years of discussion and conviction, on the new Cinema and audiovisual communication of the European Commission, which could have called into question the territorialization of expenditures, and thus ultimately the interest for States and communities to invest in national creation and production.
You have made these two major commitments with the French Government, with many French and European artists and parliamentarians, whom I greet and thank, in order to reaffirm your attachment to these fundamentals, and a European Union respectful of the cultures of its Member States.
And we have won! I take the opportunity to renew my invitation to you to the colloquium of 4 and 5 April next which will be dedicated to the place of Culture in Europe, because it seemed to me that the time had come for this exchange after having particularly measured the desire and energy of my European counterparts so that we mobilized around this question and this common issue.
Culture is not marketable, culture is a separate good!
For this reason, the Government has deemed it consistent and necessary, that the VAT applied to the entrance ticket to cinemas again benefits from the reduced rate. As of January 1, 2014, the VAT is therefore 5.5%, instead of 7% previously, or 10% as announced. Despite the difficult economic context, this was a commitment that the Government wanted to make and that we can consider as a sign of support for a sector and cultural practice that is also preferred by the French.
This defence of diversity, I intend that it be done in a reasoned economic approach: it is indeed a question of encouraging competitiveness and employment.
As there is strong fiscal competition between Member States to attract films, care must be taken to competitiveness of French tax credits for a better contribution to the development of employment in France. The effort made in 2013 by the Government was continued in 2014, as the two national and international tax credits have again been reformed, improved, expanded and strengthened.
As regards employmentFrench film production lacked a common social framework. This framework has existed since 7 October, with the conclusion, by the social partners, of an amendment to the collective agreement of 19 January 2012, which will grant rights to employees without calling into question cultural diversity.
I would like to commend the commitment of Frédérique Bredin and his teams at the CNC, the Directorate-General for Labour, as well as the collective responsibility of the trade union and producer organisations, which has led to a widely shared text.
It took on this subject, the firm commitment of the State, to put an end to 7 years of latent conflict, which ended up endangering the professional solidarity essential to the development of the sector. It is this commitment that I and Michel Sapin have made in the service of French cinema and its social cohesion.
The work which is being carried out under the joint agreement should make it possible to complete this text quickly, so that I hope that the number of trade union organizations which join it will be further enlarged.
France’s policy in favour of cinema must be, strong of its past, oriented towards the future: we must bet on youth in the policy of supply and invest for the future of French cinema.
The emergence of new channels and Internet giants has led us to adapt the French model to the digital age and to modernise creative financing tools: making better use of the Internet in broadcasting, expanding the legal offer, enhancing it, secure the distribution by resolutely fighting against piracy, and of course optimize and make more fair the distribution of value. It is in this context that the work and the consultations must start on the chronology of the media at the exit of these Assizes and under the leadership of the CNC, and that at the same time the Government fights against piracy – I think in particular of the mission entrusted to Mireille Imbert-Quarretta on the fight against illicit sites, which will be reported to me very soon and which will incorporate very concrete proposals, particularly on the issue of follow-the-money mechanisms. On this aspect of commercial piracy, I would add that in an interview with my British counterpart, I was able to gauge the desire for our countries to work together.
I first wished that, as in the Finance Act for 2013, the President of the Republic and the Government reaffirm their attachment to the support account mechanism in force since 1946.
We have thus rejected the temptations of those who once again wanted to cap and tax which finance the sectors of activity covered by the CDI. The drain on its cash has been calibrated to not endanger the CNC in its fundamentals.
In addition, the scope of action of the CNC has been extended, since thanks to the finance law, the Overseas territories will benefit from TNC mechanisms in 2015. This is a great step forward.
Finally, we are resolutely modernizing the tools of cultural exception : the tax on television services in its "distribution" component (TST-D) was approved, after many months of discussion, by the European Commission last November, allowing henceforth to take into account all modes of access to television services, including broadband internet. The reform was carried out by reaffirming the principle of a base based on turnover and avoiding any flat-rate basis. I still remember that a little over a year ago at the 2012 Dijon meetings organized by the Arp, some were sceptical about our chances of achieving this. In addition, under the amending Finance Act, the Government has included catch-up television in the TST component “publishers”, and plans to submit foreign companies, in addition to French ones, under the video tax. This is an essential step in taking into account the new modes of broadcasting in the digital age.
I know that these last reforms are also present in your discussions and reflections for the Assizes. 2013 will thus have enabled both consolidation and cohesion. With this solid foundation, 2014 must be a time for modernization and forward-looking work.
In the audiovisual sector, 2013 was also marked by the presentation of Laurent Vallet’s report, which I welcome today. I would add that, with a view to fostering the digital transition of cultural industries, we have been able to strengthen IFCIC’s means of action for 2014.
I wanted these Assizes to which you have responded many times.
They brought you together to exchange, discuss and debate and thus collectively seize the challenges facing French cinema today. They marked the starting point of a dynamic of reflection and consultation far from the polemics and the particular positions taken. Media agitation, in particular on the issue of the level of fees, which we know, and it was reaffirmed by René Bonnell that they cannot constitute the heart of this reflection.
We still hear many untruths today. Our task is twofold: we must of course modernize our funding arrangements to adapt them to today’s challenges, but we must also engage collectively and individually in the path of pedagogy and clarification. Today, it is important to remember some obvious facts that are apparently not for everyone.
It is also necessary to recall all the contributions that film and audiovisual policy has made to French growth and creation.. French cinema generates growth and jobs. Film accounts for almost half a percentage point of GDP and 100,000 jobs that contribute to the vitality of French culture and industry throughout the country. More broadly, the IGAC and IGF report, which we and Pierre Moscovici have just published last Friday, highlights the contribution of culture to the economy: up to 3.2% of GDP, equivalent to agriculture and agri-food industries and seven times more than the automotive industry.
We must work together to to modernize a virtuous device, which rarely exists abroad and which many envy us. This mechanism is particularly well able to unite private, individual and collective energies and public action around a specific incentive policy refined over the years and changes in the sector.
For this strategic exercise, which I had hoped for on January 23, 30 of you worked regularly over the past few months to analyze all the strengths and weaknesses or limitations of the production and distribution sectors. A report was prepared by René Bonnell whose main recommendations we heard. Within the framework of the Assizes, a specific group of 18 people composed of Directors/ Technicians/ Producers entitled «For a better financing of auteur cinema» was taken by Pascale Ferran and Katell Quillévéré. In addition, a group of experts worked with the CNC to study the economics of French films, the synthesis of which made it possible to recall whether it was necessary that the economy of cinema should be thought of in the long term and on all the means of distribution.
I want to emphasize that you have all done an outstanding job.
You have confirmed the relevance of the main objectives and fundamental principles of the system (public support, pre-financing system, regulation of major balances between sectors and between operators).
You have all put forward concrete proposals to prepare for the future.
You all want to aim to adapt the system to the digital future and a French market that global operators will invest.
This is what I wanted. Evolution seems to me essential and my goal is to implement it. But we are not reforming a system that has always involved all the components of a sector in invective and confrontation. I believe in collective intelligence. The 2013 report I have just drawn up reflects the results of this collective work.
The exercise of the Assises for the diversity of cinema is therefore an in-depth work that must lead the sector to project itself in the digital world, and the public authorities to pursue there the objectives of creation and diversity that are theirs and also yours.
I would like to emphasize the interest and the example of this approach of a sector accepting criticism, open to updates, and imbued with a constructive and responsible spirit.
I would like to thank you warmly Dear René Bonnell, as well as all those who participated in this report for the quality of the work and the reflection engaged.
I have identified three key areas that I believe are essential as a short-term reform agenda – for 2014. I will not decline all the proposals on each axis, but many of them can be taken in 2014, whether they are legislative – through the law creation, or regulatory, or the jurisdiction of professional agreements.
First, consolidate funding for the diversity of French production, based on strategic financial perspectives (5-year evolution of the various film markets and their ability to finance risk, audacity and creation).
The diversity funding, firstly, to support the most fragile production while encouraging the renewal of the sector. For example, as proposed, by including a share of first and second films in the commitments of all channels in the cinema. Other measures would allow a greater plurality of chain investments and thus combat the market trend to bipolarization. The sector must also be made up of a solid network of companies, it is the sense of the proposals that encourage the grouping, the association of companies and the pooling of their investments on projects supported in common. Without forgetting to strengthen the core of French production: these so-called «middle» films which make a good part of the attractiveness of our sector and which combine quality requirements and popular and commercial ambition, notably through the automatic support of the CNC.
Second priority, to improve, without delay, economic transparency between operators,
- First, to limit inflation, if necessary by making certain supports or investments subject to cost control; we see that the first indicators of 2013 reveal a more virtuous behaviour in this area. I stress the responsible nature of these measures: it is to your sense of individual and collective responsibility that all these indicative proposals are addressed. So I support that accountability. At the same time, I am also asking the TNC to follow up closely, as I am determined to undertake some of the measures if the necessary moderation of excessive costs is not found.
- Secondly, for professionals, work to redefine a more equitable sharing of risk, a better alignment of the interests of all sectors (production, TV, distribution, export, video, theatres, etc.).
- Thirdly, promote, through various measures, increased transparency of costs and revenues in all markets, an indispensable condition for confidence and risk sharing.
This need for transparency, we discussed it at the last meeting to strengthen the bonds of trust necessary for the balance of the cinema ecosystem. And your work has given us specific and operational leads in this area.
Third direction: improving film distribution, to strengthen and diversify the outlets of fragile films in the various markets (cinemas that remain essential, video on demand, export in particular).
I should also like to stress this aspect, the aim of which is to make all of us accountable, and solidarity total between the actors.
This can take the path of support, especially with automatic support for Video on demand I have already defended the principle and I wish to propose it to the Government. It is your proposal no. 36. I note that at the same time, the sector must contribute better to the financing of creation, through a video tax extended to the advertising revenues of SMAD – I intend to propose to wear under the LFI 2015, as well as strengthened production obligations.
As far as theatrical distribution is concerned, as proposed by René Bonnell, the improvement of the distribution may take the form of new agreements on general rental conditions which would provide for a minimum exhibition of films. I know that the professional organisations of operators and distributors are planning to meet soon: I thank you for this because it is essential to continue a regular and fruitful dialogue so that we can all succeed together in better promoting the access of works to rooms in particular art and essay, better promoting works in theatres in reasonable commercial terms, and expose them for some longer so the public can spot them and have more time to see them and make others like them.
This may also be reflected in increased programming commitments. Last year, commitments went from a weekly basis to a daily basis, taking digital into account.
I therefore ask the exhibitors concerned to continue along this path, in a dialogue with distributors and under the supervision of the Film Ombudsman and the CNC.
As is customary in the sector, the TNC will bring the formal setting which integrates the trade union and professional organisations, so that everyone can grasp the proposals and their stakes.
I want to entrust to the CNC the steering of this consultation. The TNC will work, as soon as we leave these Assizes, to guide the negotiations according to the priorities and/or possibilities (regulatory, budgetary) that we will have defined together.
Measures can be decided and implemented without waiting for the end of the whole consultation Simple measures of a regulatory nature, if quickly reached a consensus or are subject to compromise; legislative measures (few in number) could find their place in the immediate legislative calendar (creation law, finance law)…
The strength of our regulatory system has always resided in its great ability to adapt to the challenges of its time, the aesthetic or technological metamorphoses of the 7th Today, we are on the threshold of a new era.
Some journalists asked me at noon if there was a fire in the movie house, but why do we want a fire in this area of excellence, which benefits from a support system that has proven its effectiveness?
I insist that it is not a question of making a clean slate of the past or of laying bare a system that has been able to demonstrate for more than half a century how virtuous and effective it is, and that has been able to bring out so many talented creators.. Which has made French cinema one of the greatest in the world by its prestige, the quality of its productions, the experience and the voluntarism of its professionals, and the enthusiasm it arouses throughout the world with works as popular as they are demanding. It has been able to encourage transmission, particularly through film education schemes, as well as the development of a cinema culture. Who was able to encourage the conservation, preservation and valorization of heritage collections…
Today, French cinema has all the assets to strengthen its place at the forefront of Europe and we can hope, from the world,
- by its aesthetic openness to all inspirations, without losing its French originality,
- by updating its mechanisms without denying their proven foundations.
This is the wish I make for French cinema, the year 2014 must be that of the continuation of the modernization of French cinema policy, for which the conjugation of intelligences and energies will be more necessary than ever.
I wish each of you an excellent 2014 and thank you for your attention.