Document type : article published in Le Monde [subscriber edition]
Author: Mathilde Gérard
Preview: Forty NGOs denounce an attempt to "muzzle civil society" after the vote in the National Assembly's Finance Committee of an amendment amendmentremoving tax benefits to organizations guilty of trespassing on an agricultural or industrial site.
It is a device several times presented since 2019 and several times rejected, that the deputy of Côtes-d'Armor Marc Le Fur (Les Républicains, LR) has this time seen an important step. On Wednesday, October 5, the Finance Committee of the National Assembly adopted an amendment to the draft finance law (PLF) for 2023 to remove tax benefits for animal protection or environmental associations that would illegally enter farms, slaughterhouses or industrial sites. If this amendment (also defended by deputies Véronique Louwagie (LR) and Marie-Christine Dalloz (LR) were to be applied, individuals making a donation to these organizations would no longer be able to benefit from a tax deduction, which today is equivalent to a form of public subsidy of the association sector.
Shortly after this adoption, forty associations (including Greenpeace, Oxfam, Réseau Action Climat, the League for the Protection of Birds, Compassion in World Farming, etc.) signed a joint statement denouncing an attempt to "muzzle civil society. "This amendment is a new proof of the relentlessness of public authorities towards civil society organizations," the NGOs said, recalling the precedents of the Demeter police unit, whose purpose is to "fight against attacks on the agricultural world", or the law against separatism, used according to the associations to monitor their actions.
The amendment of the Republicans is particularly aimed at, without naming it, the organization L214, which broadcasts to the general public videos shot clandestinely showing the underbelly of intensive breeding practices or chain slaughter. For Marc Le Fur, these are "completely erroneous films, with disturbing comments and music". If L214 remains discreet about its filming conditions, it claims a form of clandestinity in order to show images that would otherwise not leave the closed doors of certain farms and slaughterhouses. [end of text available to non-subscribers].
Another article on the same subject published on October 7, 2022 on the France Info website: "·Agribashing·": les associations qui luttent pour le bien-être animal meother small companion animalsées d’étranglement financier":
