It’s D-day for the horse racing industry. This Thursday, its actors are called to parade in Paris. The “We march or we die” demonstration will aim to show a sector angry against the plan to overtax horse racing betting. This project has (temporarily?) disappeared but the possibility of its return is not completely excluded and the general mobilization, this Thursday in the streets of Paris, is transformed into opposition through anticipation and prevention. An act with communication virtues too, to put into perspective all the dimensions of a “complex and essential player in rurality” sector, according to the comments made by deputies during recent debates.
All players in the sector including training
Presented during recent debates in the National Assembly as a complex and complete sector driving an ecosystem, the horse racing industry will mobilize all its stakeholders this Thursday. Suppliers, materials and food, transporters, all are expected on deck. Just like training, one of the heart of the sector. This is how AFASEC, the reference training organization for the horse racing and breeding professions in France, is fully associated with the movement by organizing a white day (without teaching) on all of its sites in solidarity with those involved in the horse racing industry. A large number of its collaborators, residents and learners will join the Parisian demonstration. The Director General of AFASEC, Guillaume Herrnberger, declared on this day: “It is essential that we all come together to defend our sector and ensure its sustainable development.”
A “dead day” that takes the races out of their framework
The mainstream media are already reporting on the event, simultaneously lifting the veil on the horse racing industry, its multiplicity of actors and speakers, and its self-financing via horse racing betting. The cause of a sector in danger due to crushing taxation is relayed, often with supporting testimonies from actors on the ground. As in a report from the France 2 television news this Wednesday. The fact that the day is dead for races with the cancellation of all competitions (a truly exceptional configuration) is also the other entry point into the subject for many media. The written press (Ouest-France, Le Figaro, Le Parisien, 20minutes, La Montagne, Les Echos, Challenges and many others), TV channels (France 2, BFM Tv, etc.) and radios (Europe 1, RTL, France Bleu, etc.) have taken up the subject of racing.
They will participate
Three professionals met in Deauville this Wednesday as part of the Autumn Sale share their impressions, analysis and state of mind.
◆ Jean-Philippe Raffegeau (coach – Anjou-Maine federation): “We feel a real mobilization in the regional committees and this is obviously the case within Anjou-Maine. Today (read Wednesday) in Deauville during the sales, it is a subject on everyone’s lips. mobilization should be strong, like seven years ago We know that the legislative system is quite complex and we see very well that the Senate can still reintroduce taxation and that 49.3 can still fall. speak know how to find the words with parliamentarians We have the support of the Minister of the Budget, Laurent Saint-Martin, and certain deputies, like that of my department (Mayenne) with Géraldine Bannier. solidarity behind these pillars for our sector, the more noise we make and the more it will carry but the number will not be everything. There is an issue of mobilization but we cannot blame people for not crossing. France and travel ten hours by bus when we know the constraints of our job. We cannot abandon the horses for even a day. I think that we must above all trust our representatives in their lobbying role and I know that there will be enough of us tomorrow (Thursday) to make our voice heard.”
◆ Franck Marty (coach – South-West federation): “I find that the mobilization of the South-West is quite sluggish at the moment despite all the efforts of regional elected officials. We do a job where we all have our heads in control, often very withdrawn into ourselves, and the awareness of the seriousness of the situation is late in my region. There, we have an immediate issue which could be decisive for the sector. The fact that the amendment on taxation was rejected perhaps encourages some to think that. it’s won but we must remain very vigilant because, if we are not able to convince at the level of the Prime Minister, we always have the risk that it will pass into a 49.3.”
◆ Gaetano Pezone (Italian broker active in French races): “This mobilization is important for the industry and the entire horse world. If the industry does not move, I fear that, in three or four years, we will find ourselves in the same situation in France as in Italy, with fewer games, fewer allocations, etc. In Italy, we did not have such a movement because everyone only talked about their own interests. In France, I see unity and real mobilization. I’ll be there for my part.”
New meeting on the gambling sector this Wednesday
Organized at the initiative of the Minister of Budget and Public Accounts Laurent San Marin, a meeting of all the players in the gambling sector took place this Wednesday morning in Bercy with a view to a consultation on possible legalization online casinos.
If the subject does not directly affect horse racing betting, this meeting was an opportunity for the presidents of the two parent companies of the races, Jean-Pierre Barjon for the SETF and Guillaume de Saint-Seine for France Galop, to invite the government to be extremely vigilant regarding this prospect of legalization. They were able to recall that the priority must be to restore the balance of the gambling sectors as the law provides. And that this rebalancing for the benefit of horse racing must be done with constant taxation and allowing it to access new horse racing games.
