1. Presentation of the Strategic Press Development Fund
The Strategic Fund for the Development of the Press (FSDP) supports, through direct State aid, a wide variety of press enterprise projects: projects representing an innovation, increasing their productivity or improving and diversifying the editorial form, as well as projects ensuring the influence of the French press in French-speaking countries.
Introduction
The Strategic Press Development Fund (FSDP) was created by Decree No. 2012-484 of 13 April 2012.
Decree No. 2020-1552 of 9 December 2020 on the reform of the strategic fund for the development of the press has modified certain rules for the allocation of aid.
Since 2014, the management of the FSDP has been renovated, simplified and unified. All previous aid files from either the former Modernisation Fund, the former SPEL Fund or the Strategic Fund before its reform continue to be monitored by the Directorate-General for Media and Cultural Industries.
The FSDP provides grants to projects of online press services, print publishing companies and news agencies that meet a number of criteria.
Decisions on the allocation of aid are taken by the Minister of Culture.
Project over 150 000 euros
For applications requesting assistance of €150,000 or more, the award decisions are taken after the opinion of a steering committee comprising, in addition to representatives of public administrations, representatives of the main professional organizations of publishers and news agencies and qualified personalities.
Project under 150,000 euro: simplified procedure
Projects with a grant application of less than €150,000 are subject to a specific review procedure. The Directorate-General for Media and Cultural Industries examines the files, decides on applications and draws up the Convention.
The béneficial
To benefit from the FSDP’s assistance, a project must be supported by one or more press companies (online press services, print publications, news agencies). In all cases, these must have been recognised by the Joint Commission for Publications and Press Agencies (CPPAP) at the time of project review. For more information on CPPAP recognition, click here.
Projects eligible for Fund support include:
- online press services recognized in CPPAP published in French, in a regional language, or in a foreign language if their content is likely to contribute to the influence of French thought. These online press services must present a political and general information character recognized by the CPPAP, or regularly provide information and comments on national and international news of all sports, or develop professional information or promote access to knowledge and training, the dissemination of thought, debate of ideas, general culture and scientific research. To be eligible, projects must be directly linked either to the provision of editorial content to the public or, where they are not linked to the provision of editorial content to the public, marketing innovations aimed at increasing advertising or subscription revenues essential to the economic balance of the online press service;
- the press agencies listed in Article 1 of the Ordinance of 2 November 1945;
- Press companies publishing publications recognized in CPPAP, and recognized by it as political and general information. In order to do so, the conditions laid down in Article D. 19-2 of the Postal and Electronic Communications Code must be fulfilled (for daily and weekly newspapers), and for publications of other periodicities, the conditions laid down in Article 1 b-1 of Decree No. 86-616 or the conditions provided for in b) of 3 of Article 2 of Decree No. 2004-1312 of 26 November 2004;
- Press companies publishing at least one daily publication recognised in CPPAP and regularly providing information and comments on national and international news of all sports;
- publishing of at least one free printed publication of political and general information, at most weekly intervals, meeting the conditions laid down in Article 72 of Annex III to the General Tax Code, with the exception of its 4°.
Projects of online press services, press agencies and press companies are not eligible where public funding ensures a decisive part of the financing of the latter, except those presented by private non-profit organizations.
La naaid paid
Aid granted under the Fund takes the form of grants and repayable advances. The publisher can apply for a grant, a repayable advance or a grant and a repayable advance.
The risingt of aid
*Individual projects*
For each project submitted to the FSDP, subject to the exceptions specified below, the grant awarded is capped at 40% of eligible expenditure.
The amount of aid that may be granted to an eligible online publication or press service project is capped at EUR 1.5 million per project. The amount of aid that may be granted to a project of an eligible news agency is capped at €600,000.
The total amount of aid granted in the same year to the same publishing company may not exceed 10 % of the amount of the Fund’s allocation.
The total aid granted during the same year to a company, its subsidiaries, publishing companies and to the publishing companies it controls (within the meaning of Articles L. 233-1 and L.233-3 of the French Commercial Code), may not exceed 15% of the amount of the Fund’s allocation.
The amount of the grant granted is set at a maximum of 60% of eligible expenditure for:
- projects representing an innovation for the sector;
- projects submitted for publications which received, in the year preceding the application, aid for national political and general information publications with low advertising resources established by the aforementioned decree of 12 March 1986;
- the projects submitted for publications which, in the year preceding the application, received aid from the regional, departmental and local daily newspapers for political and general information with limited resources of classified advertisements instituted by the aforementioned decree of 28 July 1989;
- projects submitted by small and medium-sized enterprises within the meaning of Decree No. 2008-1354 of the aforementioned 18 December 2008 which employ fewer than 25 persons;
- Projects presented by ultra-marine publishers without restriction of the number of titles in the territory (give preference to the «collective» project when possible).
The amount of the grant granted is set at a maximum of 70% of eligible expenditure for projects submitted by emerging companies employed less than 25 persons and under 3 years of age
*Collective projects*
A collective project must be supported by three eligible companies or two eligible companies if they are located overseas.
In accordance with Article 13, paragraph 7, of Decree No. 2012-484 of 13 April 2012 amended, collective projects may be submitted by a company, an association, a professional union, an economic interest group or any other legal structure that has received a mandate from at least three news agencies or companies publishing printed publications or online press services that meet the criteria to benefit from this fund and has no capital bond between them.
The amount of the grant granted shall be set at a maximum of 70 % of eligible expenditure and the amount of the advance granted shall be set at a maximum of 70 % of eligible expenditure.
An 80% rate also benefits collective projects, representing an innovative character for the press sector, and whose objective is to promote the ecological transition.
The amount of the subsidy likely to be granted shall be capped at EUR 1 million for each publishing company participating in a collective project. This amount is set at 400,000 euros per agency participating in a collective project.
The aid allocated to a collective project may not exceed 20% of the amount of the Fund’s endowment.
*Joint projects*
In accordance with Article 13, paragraph 8, of Decree No. 2012-484 of 13 April 2012 amended, joint projects may be submitted by a company acting on behalf of the company that controls it or one or more companies that it controls within the meaning of Article L. 233-3 of the commercial code. Unlike collective projects, joint projects do not receive an increased rate of aid.
Eligible expenditurees
In accordance with the reformed rules of the Strategic Fund, the following expenses are taken into account, on the basis of their amount excluding taxes, in so far as they are related to the project and strictly necessary for the realization of itIn the case of online press services directly linked to the provision of editorial content to the public in accordance with the criteria referred to in Article 1 of the Law of 1er August 1986 referred to above:
- capital expenditures : intangible investments, intangible investments, tangible investments, operations to produce digital content or digitise content, real estate work directly related to the project;
- operating expenses : rental for the first five years, studies, research and development and advisory actions, vocational training actions and other external expenditure directly related to the project, studies or surveys to prepare the investment, promotion actions, salary expenses directly related to computer development tasks or investments allowing the provision of digital content, and for only French-speaking countries where access to the French press is limited by the standard of living, the development of the French press abroad.
Only for projects submitted by small and medium-sized enterprises within the meaning of Decree No. 2008-1354 of 18 December 2008 which employ fewer than 25 persons and whose date of registration goes back less than three years at the time of the filing of the complete file of grant application or advance, the expenses of salaries directly related to the editorial design, for the project only; the maximum period for taking these expenses into account is limited, from the date of their commitment, to six months.
Eligibility of the online press service
If you have any doubts about the eligibility of your online press service, we invite you to contact the FSDP.
It should be specified whether your request will, a priori, be less than or greater than 150 000 €. In the event that your request is less than 150 000 euros, the eligibility of your online press service will be appreciated by the DGMIC. For an application exceeding 150,000 euros, the eligibility of the site will be submitted to the Steering Committee.
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