France

[FR] Codicil to the Collective Agreement for the Cinema Sector Concluded in Favour of the Most Fragile Productions

IRIS 2013-10:1/24

Amélie Blocman

Légipresse

After ten years of negotiation, it will at last be possible for the collective agreement on cinematographic production and advertising films to enter into force. During the night of 7/8 October 2013, all the production employers’ organisations and the national union of technicians and workers in the cinematographic and television production industry (Syndicat National des Techniciens et Travailleurs de la Production Cinématographique et de la Télévision - SNTCPT) signed an agreement containing a codicil to the collective agreement. The codicil covers the waiver mechanism provided in respect of low-budget films, which was problematic as it had still not been set up, whereas the collective agreement was to enter into force on 1 October 2013. On 6 September 2013, the judge sitting in urgent matters at the Conseil d’État had suspended enforcement of the decision by the Minister for Employment extending the collective agreement until the arrangements provided for had actually been set up (see IRIS 2013-9/15), which has now been done. "This constitutes a big step forward, as the cinema was the one sector in France not covered by a collective agreement", the Minister for Culture declared.

The text of the agreement that has at last been negotiated and signed provides for special conditional arrangements for films with a forecast budget not exceeding EUR 3 million. Other arrangements are scheduled for films with a budget of less than EUR 1 million - specific negotiations are to be held in the next six months - and documentaries. For this category of films, the wages of technicians are to be fixed on an individual basis, subject to observance of the legal minimum wage. The codicil addresses the problems indicated in the report by Raphaël Hadas-Lebel (see IRIS 2013-5/26) as affecting the most fragile cinematographic productions. The report held that it would cease to be possible to make films with a budget of less than EUR 1 million if the text of 19 January 2012 were to be applied. The agreement also encourages the continuation of shooting films in France, as only films shot mainly in France - unless required otherwise by the scenario for artistic purposes - will be able to benefit.

The parties that were against the collective agreement and had referred the matter to the Conseil d'État for a full decision have agreed to withdraw their complaint if the other trade unions validate the codicil, which seems to be highly likely.