Community radio stations are alarmed by the “guillotine blow” that they believe the finance bill (PLF) for 2025 brings to them, which plans to reduce the fund that supports them by 10 million euros. “We call on the government to review its position and re-establish support worthy of the importance of associative radio stations for our society,” argued the SNRL (National Union of Free Radios), the CNRA (National Confederation of Associative Radios) and the association Les Locales in a press release Friday evening.
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 2025 PLF. This is not an economic plan, but a real blow to the guillotine,” the three organizations are indignant.
They emphasize that this reduction constitutes the bulk of the “12 million euros of 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. Asked by AFP, the Ministry of Culture said on Saturday that 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 reduction,” 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.
Overall, Culture was relatively spared by the budgetary effort requested for next year in the PLF presented on Thursday. It benefits from a budget of 4.45 billion euros for 2025, a strict renewal of the amount allocated by the initial finance law (LFI) last year.
