The CFDT, CGC, CGT unions and the management of Figaro have closed an agreement that guarantees the payment to journalists of 25% of the related rights collected by the title for the use of its content by Meta and Google, the management announced on Thursday, October 31.
Extended to digital platforms in 2019 by a European directive, rights related to copyright allow newspapers, magazines or press agencies to be remunerated when their articles, photographs, videos, etc. They are reused by the giants of the web.
Over the years, and with difficulty, framework agreements for the payment of related rights to various media outlets have been concluded, as well as individual agreements with, in particular, the world EITHER The Figaro.
The confidential amounts received by the latter are the “negotiated by APIG”the Alliance for the general information press, which brings together nearly 300 titles, said the group’s general director FigaroMarc Feuillée.
They call for the establishment of an “arbitration mechanism”
The internal agreement announced on Thursday, the result of conversations that began according to him in 2021, refers to the distribution of sums linked to the contracts concluded with Meta (Facebook) and Google. He “It will be reinforced by possible agreements” future “with other market players”underlines a press release.
For now, all journalists in the Figaro You will receive, retroactively, 2,900 euros for the period between October 2019 and December 2023, according to the press release. a payment “We should pay about 800 euros per journalist” add it by 2024 “and the following years”is added. “We sign until the end of 2025” to give yourself “visibility” and allow “argue again” reach an agreement if necessary, said Marc Feuillée.
if he “rejoices” of a “fair and logical remuneration” for the 550 press card holders of the Figarothe manager is also said “worried about the future”. “Google agreements are currently being renegotiated with APIG and Facebook agreements will be renegotiable in 2025”remember. Furthermore, a “several American platforms”including “they do not comply with related rights”five years after the promulgation of the specific law, argues Feuillée, calling for the creation of a “arbitration mechanism”.
Only the section of the National Union of Journalists (SNJ) of Figaro issued an unfavorable opinion for several reasons. “We did not agree with the definition of a journalist, which is based on the press card, and not on the labor code as we requested”explains union leader Patrick Bèle. “The access threshold for the self-employed to access related rights is also too high”believes Bèle. Finally, the sums paid to journalists would correspond more to 22.5%, according to the calculation of the SNJ, the latter indicating that The Figaro charges management fees of 10%. However, the agreement was validated because the SNJ section of the Figaro was in the minority against the CGT and CFDT sections of the title.
A similar agreement was reached daily in June the worldensuring that journalists receive a payment of 25% of related royalties collected for the use of their content by the platforms and the American artificial intelligence startup OpenAI.
