Guard Culture, Europe Is Told by Mitterrand
French President Francois Mitterrand on Saturday issued a rallying call to Europe to save its culture from what he called the threat of American television and Japanese technology.
“American programs and Japanese technology largely dominate the European market,” Mitterrand told delegates at a European audiovisual conference in Paris.
Mitterrand has made salvaging Europe’s struggling audio-visual industry the central plank of his scheme for a cultural revival in Europe during France’s current presidency of the European Community.
Europe now produces 20,000 hours of television programs annually, far short of the 125,000 it needs to feed a fast-growing number of terrestrial and satellite channels, Mitterrand told the 1,500 delegates from 27 nations.
The shortfall is filled by imports, mainly from the United States, where Europe’s share of the program market is negligible.
France has been advocating quotas for American programs shown by EC-based channels.
Sign up for Essential California
The most important California stories and recommendations in your inbox every morning.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
