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In a letter dated 29 May to the Chairman of the Conseil supérieur de l'audiovisuel (the audiovisual regulatory body - CSA) concerning terrestrially-broadcast digital television, the Minister of Culture and Communication proposed that "co-operation between the CSA and the Ministry should be embarked upon as quickly as possible and at the most appropriate level in order to discern more clearly the nature of the technical, economic and legal difficulties and the solutions envisaged for overcoming them to best advantage". At the top of the list of these difficulties are the problems involved in the...

Article 40 of the Act of 30 September 1986 is intended to protect audiovisual communication companies from excessive foreign influence, thereby assuring a degree of cultural protection in the sector. It prohibits any one person (natural or legal) of foreign nationality from holding, either directly or indirectly, more than 20% of the company capital or voting rights at general meetings of shareholders of a company holding an authorisation to provide a French-language sound or television broadcasting service using Hertzian terrestrial technology. The arrival last December of the American company...

On 7 May, the European Commission decided to commence infringement proceedings against France and sent formal notice in respect of the Decree of 27 March 1992. Article 8 of the Decree prohibits advertising on television for literary publishing, the cinema, the press and distribution. This decision follows two complaints, one brought by a Belgian furniture distributor whose advertising was refused by the France 3-Nord television channel, and the other complaint brought by the magazine press syndicate (Syndicat de la presse magazine - SPMI), with the support of the press editor Emap, whose promotion...

On 16 April, Mr Messier, chairman of the company Vivendi Universal, announced that Xavier Couture would be replacing Pierre Lescure as chairman of the board of management of the Canal + group. The CSA (Conseil supérieur de l'audiovisuel - the audiovisual regulatory authority) immediately announced that it would be hearing Pierre Lescure, the signatory of the station's agreement, and Jean-Marie Messier, as it wants to make sure that Canal + SA will adhere strictly to all the obligations listed in its agreement and ensure respect for the channel's editorial independence from its principal shareholder,...

Terrestrially-broadcast digital television is supposed to be starting up before the end of the year, but a few adjustments to the relevant regulations are still required. Thus, just hours before the Jospin government stood down, the work statements for the public-sector channels for terrestrially-broadcast digital television were gazetted. The public-sector service is supposed to offer between eight and thirty-three channels, broadcasting unencrypted and free of charge the channels France 2, France 3, La Cinquième, ARTE, the parliamentary channel, eight regional channels dependent on France 3,...