Pipi, just google it and you will get all sorts of hits on the subhect. If you don't like this source, then find another, as this is no big secret and there are many articles about the subject. Comments about French fears of US cultural imperialism are toward the end.
www.american.edu . . .
The 1989 EU
"Television Without Frontiers" directive and quotas implemented by
the French Government limit the number of American films shown in
French theaters and on French Television. The EU Broadcast
Directive was passed inOctober 1989 in an effort to protect and
promote the Europeancultural identity. The directiverequires that
EU member-states reserve a majority (51 percent) of entertainment
broadcast transmission time for programs of European origin.
France lobbied hardest to pass the EU directive and has since
implemented the most stringent quotas within its national system.
In order to show its good faith, France even requires its TV and
Movie distributors to purchase from European neighbors, without any
guarantee that they will reciporicate. In the context of this case
study, the principles and rationale prescribed by the French
government will be examined.
2. Description
The EU Directive requires that EU member-states "ensure
wherever practicable and by appropriate means that broadcasters
reserve for European works the majority proportion of their
transmission time, excluding the time appointed to news, sports
events, games, advertising and teletext services"(1). The directive
included all EU countries at the time it was created, requiring
each country to implement quotas for European-made audio-visual
programming. By the end of the year in 1993, all EU member-states
had enacted legislation, thereby fully implementing the directive
in their national legislation (2). Of all of the EU member-states
France implemented the most aggressive quota system. It has since
since put forth the greatest effort to fend off what it has termed
"American cultural imperialism.." France currently requires that
no more than 40%of films shown in France are of non-European
origin. Its dedication to the quota system is also evident in its
repeated lobbying efforts within the EU. The goal would be to
have every European member-state impose similiar quota systems.
French President Jacqes Chirac strongly supports
restrictions within the entertainment industry because as he puts
it -- he does not want to see "European culture sterilized or
obliterated by American Culture for economic reasons that have
nothing to do with real culture" (3). (The economic reasons Chirac
refers to involve the enormous American film budgets as compared
with the meager budgets of most European films.) Recent Hollywood
releases play at one-fourth of France's 4,500 cinemas. Chirac also
supports cultural exception, and production and distribution quotas
on cultural materials like film and TV. (Cultural exception is the
issue most controversial to many American film makers and to the US
government because it leaves cultural productions out of the
discussion for international free-trade agreements.)
EU officials claim that quotas and trade limitations set
forth by policies like the "Television Without Frontiers" directive
are not intended to keep American productions out of Europe as
American entertainment executives claim. They say that the goal is
to liberalize trade, not restrain it; to enhance business
opportunities for all broadcasting companies selling in Europe (4).
Europeans, and especially the French say, "A legitimate desire to
preserve national and regional identities should not be confused
with protectionism (5). Creating a more level playing ground
within the film industry worldwide is goal France seems to be
working toward.
FRENCH INDUSTRY IMPLICATIONS AND REACTIONS
According to the French Ministry of Culture, the vast majority
of French Television professionals and Film distributors favor
quotas and program restrictions. The country's two public
television channels, France 2 and France 3, are reported to be
officially in favor. In private interviews, however, program
planners from the stations say that the quotas are a restriction of
not only their professional freedom, but the freedom of the viewing
public. (6)
France's film industry is based on a system of subsidies which
already give the film industry a significant boost. Aided by the
additional influx of funding from subsidies, a total of about one-
hundred and thirty films are made in France each year. Many of the
films are co-produced with television companies to be used two
years after general release for TV programming. Even with that
number of movies per year, the demand for programming on
television cannot be met. The law in France requires that no more
than 40% of television programs be of non-European origin and so
the television programmers often find themselves short of
material. As a result they must run frequent repeats and show
second-rate films during prime time.
A further hindrance to the television companies is that French
law requires television channels to invest 15% of their turnover in
the production of "original French works." Many television company
executives feel that the financial investment requirement to
French works is enough without strict quota requirements that cause
programmers to scramble for material.(7) To make everything more
frustrating for those in the French entertainment industry, France
is the only EU country that requires its stations to purchase
programs from other EU nations. Nothing forces EU partners to
purchase French programming.(8) Those who oppose protectionism
say that "barriers and protectionism...are out of place in a world
of creative competition and expanding visual choice"(8A).
Although traditional producers of film in Europe want
continued policies of government protection, from subsidies to
quotas, commercially oriented television producers are
increasingly skeptical about government requirements that are
allegedly to protect European culture. As a result there is
significant debate between the Association of Commercial
Television and the traditional auteur genre of filmmaking (8B).
UNITED STATES OPPOSITION
The EU Directive and quotas like those imposed by the French
have been met with much opposition from the United States. As the
world's largest exporter of audio-visual programming, the US stands
to lose most from the initiatives in terms of economic control
within the entertainment industry. US film producers are concerned
with the directive's implications because the industry earns $3.5
billion per year from the exports to the European audio-visual
market. Their interests have been presented for many years by the
Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) which is one of the
most effective lobbying groups in Washington.
The United States Government's opposition is based on its view
that the directive is an economic measure designed to protect the
European industry from external competition. (9). In light of the
US trade deficit, the trade surplus generated by the motion
picture industry is a compelling reason for Congress to take
action. In addition, TV film production for Europe is a growth area
which could help to decrease the trade deficit even more.(10)
The United States has held consultation with the EU under GATT
article XXII concerning the directive. The US stance is that the
quotas violate member- states' obligations under the GATT. The US
contends that it is entitled to take further action based on its
GATT rights and will therefore monitor the implementation of the EU
measures closely, in order to ascertain whether Super 301 measures
will be necessary. (11.)
THE REALITIES
While the European commission imposes quotas to defend
European cultural identity -- 18 million viewers from the five
largest European countries tune in each week to see American
programs like "Baywatch"(12). Such American programs are as popular
in many EU nations as their highest rated nationally-produced
programs. Many large commercial broadcasters in Europe such as TF1,
France's first privatized channel are well aware of this fact and
for this reason have more net imports of programming from the
United States than from any other country. Feature films from
the United States are equally popular with European audiences and
as a result European dependence on American films and programming
has grown dramatically in recent years. American films represent
82% of the films shown in Europe and this dominance is bolstered by
the fact that American media groups own some 60 percent of European
di
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