UNI stands with French unions against dangerous reform of public audiovisual media
30.06.25
UNI Global Union stands with French unions launching an indefinite strike action today to protest the government’s proposed reform of France’s public audiovisual sector, which will worsen jobs and endanger the quality of public broadcasting. UNI’s Media, Entertainment and Arts sector represents over 130 unions and guilds in more than 70 countries.
The reform aims to merge public media companies, which are today independent, under a single holding structure. UNI’s affiliated unions, CGT, CFDT and FO, have been campaigning for months against the alarming project. The French unions warn that the government’s plans would threaten editorial independence, degrade working conditions and jeopardize the diversity and quality of public service broadcasting.
“This reform does not aim to streamline public broadcasting and protect its independence, as claimed by the Minister of Culture and Communication. It aims to weaken it, control it and ultimately dismantle it. And once it’s gone, it will never come back. We are striking to defend an independent, pluralist media that belongs to all citizens, not a centralized structure that risks silencing diverse voices and erode journalistic freedom,” said William Maunier, Secretary general of the SNRT-CGT in France, who is also President of UNI’s Media, Entertainment & Arts sector in Europe.
The proposed legislation, currently being debated in the French Parliament, lacks transparency and justification for why this drastic action is needed. The reform is paired with ongoing budget cuts and the dismantling of the traditional long-term funding model. After the TV licence fee was scrapped in 2022, the planned concentration threatens not only jobs and working conditions, but the very mission of public broadcasting to offer pluralist, independent, and culturally rich content to the public in France and abroad.
“Merging France’s public media under a single structure without proper safeguards will weaken its independence,” said Johannes Studinger, Head of UNI Media, Entertainment & Arts. “What France’s public media needs is investment in its future: digital innovation, content for young audiences and stronger protections against disinformation – not cost-cutting mergers that undermine its staff and reduce public value.”
UNI calls on the French government to withdraw the merger plan and instead commit to sustainable, long-term funding for public media. We urge policymakers to listen to the workers who are the backbone of the public media companies.
UNI joins French unions in calling for:
- A strong, pluralist, independent public broadcasting with sustainable resources,
- Guarantees of editorial independence and pluralism of information,
- Preservation of employment, respect of collective agreements, and improvement of working conditions,
- A halt to outsourcing, casualization and subcontracting,
- A transparent democratic debate, with the full involvement of workers and their representatives.
Read our statement in support: English, French, Spanish.
