A law passed in 2004, due to come into full effect at the end of 2007, will end exemptions for seniors and low-income earners from paying their TV licence (redevance audiovisuelle). Instead they will benefit from a 50% discount until the end of 2009.

The 2004 law tied the licence fee to the taxe d'habitation, meaning all those subject to taxe d'habitation were also subject to the TV licence. The three-year grace period was designed to soften the blow. 

But as that period draws to a close, on December 6 2007, the Assemblée nationale voted  to allow those affected a partial exemption of 50% of the €116 fee, until 2009. The 780,000 households concerned will therefore have to pay €58 in 2008, and the full fee the year after. 

The amendment was proposed to the Assemblée nationale by Patrice Martin-Lalande (UMP), with Michel Raison, Yves Censi, Benoist Apparu and Louis Giscard d'Estaing. The debate was between those who believed that the full amount should be levied immediately, as it represents €90 milllion of potential income for the state, and Socialist députés who see the move as "a step backwards socially, against retired people". Online magazine for seniors, Senioractu.com cited the recent words of two députés to condemn the move: "Radio and television help stave off solitude, and are therefore especially important for the elderly, given their associated problems of mobility."