The Bichet law mandates the Arcep to implement a mechanism commonly known as "equalization." This involves identifying specific and unavoidable costs incurred by newspaper distribution and allocating them among all press companies that use consolidated distribution for their newspapers and periodicals sold to the public.
The calculation rules for this equalization mechanism between press companies were adopted in November 2021 by the Arcep, following modeling work conducted since 2020 and contributions from stakeholders during two public consultations.
For the year 2025, the equalization amount totals €7,711,987.23. The decision also specifies the amounts to be regularized, which will subsequently be passed on to publishers by the approved press distribution companies through supplementary calls.
While the equalization amount had been decreasing since 2021, it is increasing for 2025, notably due to a larger decrease in newspaper volumes compared to the decrease in their transport costs.
For the period from November 2026 to October 2027, the provisional monthly installment rate is set at 0.75% of the previous month's high-value sales for press titles distributed in metropolitan and overseas France, on behalf of press companies using consolidated distribution for their newspapers and periodicals.
