French producers sound alarm over proposed €47M cut to France Télévisions
France's independent producers say a proposed €47 million ($53 million) cut to state funding for France Télévisions in 2027 would damage jobs and programmes.
France Télévisions is the country's publicly funded national broadcaster. It runs free-to-air channels paid for largely from public money, and it commissions drama, documentary, children's shows and animation from outside companies. Details of the proposal were reported by Deadline on September 23.
Three producer organisations — Le SPI, USPA and AnimFrance — issued a joint open letter in response. The groups represent independent production companies that make shows and films for broadcasters. They accused the French government of a "brutal social plan" that could cause irreparable harm to the audiovisual sector.
The guilds said the cut runs counter to promises made at President Emmanuel Macron's Lumière Summit. That meeting was devoted to the future of cinema and the moving image.
France Télévisions President Delphine Ernotte Cunci set out a larger shortfall in a Le Monde interview on September 18. She said the broadcaster faced a €90 million ($100 million) hole in its 2027 budget. That figure combines the proposed €47 million reduction in state funds with falling advertising revenue and rising inflation.
The broadcaster cut sits inside a much wider savings drive. The French government is seeking €54 billion ($61 billion) in spending cuts to control public debt, which is projected to reach 121.7% of GDP in 2027.
Producers answered with economic numbers. Their letter said the French audiovisual sector supports 260,000 direct and indirect jobs. It generates more than €12 billion in added value, ahead of the automotive and textile industries.
They also argued that public money for France Télévisions pays back. Each euro of state funding generates €2.40 in the French economy, they said, with €0.50 returning directly to state coffers.
Concern is not new. The authors' group La SCAM published its own open letter to parliamentarians calling for France Télévisions' public funding to be maintained, in a statement dated October 20, 2025 and shared by La SCAM.
For viewers unfamiliar with the French system, the link is direct. Cuts to the broadcaster's budget reduce what it can spend on programmes made by French companies. That is why producers, writers and the broadcaster's leadership are speaking together.
