Audrey Azoulay recalled that cinema is the first leisure of our citizens. In 2015, theatres in France registered 205 million admissions, two-thirds of French people and 87% of under-25s visited at least once a year. The market share of French films (35%) is much higher than that of national films in Germany (27.5%), Italy (21%), Spain (19%) or the United Kingdom (11%). Our country is not only a land of creation, but also of discovery and development of European and world cinema. In 2015, the number of international co-productions involving France stood at 142, the highest level in 10 years. These co-productions represent more than 45% of the films broadcast in France. Film is also a cultural industry, representing 340,000 jobs and 1% of the gross domestic product in our country.

The Minister of Culture and Communication recalled all the measures implemented since 2012 in favour of cinema, diversity and creation:

  • In 2012, the Government lowered the VAT on cinema tickets at a reduced rate of 5.5%. As part of its responsibility, the sector passed on this VAT reduction to the price of tickets for children under 14. Thus, 20 million admissions were made at a price of 4 euros and 4 euros 50 in 2015, which represents an increase of 20% compared to 2014.
  • The Government has taken decisive measures to restore the competitiveness and attractiveness of filming in France. In 2013, it increased the tax credit from 20 to 30% for films with a budget of less than €4 million. In 2014, it decided to extend this measure from 2016 to all films under €7 million and for animated films. In 2015, the government chose to extend the tax credit increase to all French-language films, as well as to all animated and visual effects films. It also extended the tax credit to works shot in a foreign language for scriptwriting reasons and increased the tax credit to 30% for works of animation and works with strong visual effects, regardless of their filming language. Finally, the ceiling was increased from 4 to 30M €.

At the end of the first quarter of 2016, the results are already convincing. Some thirty French and European filming projects have returned to France, bringing with them more than 100 million euros of activity and thousands of jobs. According to estimates by the Centre National du Cinéma et de l'Image Animée (CNC), these measures could translate into €200 million in activity and 10,000 jobs in 2016.

  • On 13 May 2016, a major agreement was signed under the auspices of the public authorities. Cinema exhibitors are committed to promoting access for independent films to medium and large theatres. As for distributors, they are committed to promoting access to independent films by theatres in rural areas and cities with fewer than 50,000 inhabitants. Defending the attractiveness of our unique cinema network is a political priority. In the continuity of this agreement, a reform of the art and essay, aimed at better supporting these rooms essential to the cultural animation of our territories and to simplify their administrative procedures, will be implemented.

Finally, in the field of European and international negotiations, France obtained in 2013 the exclusion of cinema and audiovisual from the mandate of negotiations of the draft free trade agreement with the United States. True to its values, France refused to reduce culture to its commercial dimension, whatever its economic weight.

This fight, the Government continues to lead by defending copyright and fighting against piracy. It is also working to convince its European partners that Community law must better take into account the role of digital actors in the distribution and financing of creation.