Community radio stations are protesting against a drop in credits allocated to the Radio Expression Support Fund (FSER), which goes from 35.7 million euros in 2024 to 25.3 million in the PLF 2025. “It This is not an economic plan, but a real blow to the guillotine,” the three organizations are indignant. Rachida Dati’s announcement this Thursday casts a chill.
The associations emphasize that this reduction constitutes the bulk of the “12 million euros in savings requested” in the PLF’s Press and Media program. However, local associative radio stations “represent only 4% of the overall budget dedicated to the Media, Books and Cultural Industries Mission”, they argue.
The Ministry of Culture said on Saturday it was “very sensitive […] to the difficulties raised by these budgetary perspectives”. “The minister’s office (Rachida Dati) will receive the main community radio unions to discuss the consequences of this drop,” continued the ministry. According to community radio stations, “the consequences of this clear cut […] will be final”, with a “direct impact on employment” and a threat to their “very existence”.
Some 750 community radio stations are affected. Created in 1982, the FSER represents on average 40% of their resources. For them to benefit from it, advertising must not exceed 20% of their turnover.
