Tobacco Documents Online

France: Proposed Action Plan to Amend the Tobacco Sponsorship Ban

Abstract

A law enacted in France in 1991 (commonly referred to as the "Loi Evin") restricted some forms of tobacco advertising and sponsorship. In 1993 French legislators considered tightening the Loi Evin to prohibit virtually all forms of tobacco advertising, with only very limited exceptions. The French legislature also proposed removing an exception that had permitted tobacco companies to continue to sponsor sporting events in France even after the Loi Evin had initially been enacted.

This proposal set off an alarm at Philip Morris. The company feared that if they allowed this measure to pass in France, the same type of restrictions would quickly spread to other European countries.

Not surprisingly, PM fought the measure. This report describes how Philip Morris France (PM) planned to manipulate the French government to preserve tobacco company sponsorship of sporting events.

Not unexpectedly, PM's strategy was multi-pronged: The company planned to use the deteriorating state of France's inner-cities (called "suburbs") to its advantage by offering the government what was, in essence, a bribe. PM planned to offer to build sporting facilities and purchase equipment for the poorer sections of French cities in exchange for the government inserting an exception into the new law that would continue to allow tobacco company sponsorship of sporting events:

"[PM will] offer sponsorship activities by tobacco companies [to the French government] as one solution for the severe urban problems."

Another tactic was to threaten French legislators by upsetting their "political equilibrium." PM says,

"[should Government officials move to restrict tobacco sponsorship of events] mobilization can take place and cause problems to the political equilibrium."

PM also proposed "using the problems of the inner-cities as a political cover" for politicians to insert an amendment favoring tobacco companies into a bill about the law.

Research by PM's Corporate Affairs department showed that manipulating French legislation through an Omnibus Bill was the way to go. PM preferred working through an Omnibus bill because they are introduced very late in the French legislative session, are usually rushed through parliament and laden with many different subjects, making discussion of individual measure in the bill very difficult. Omnibus bills thus avoid scrutiny by consumer groups and health authorities. In a section entitled "How to amend the Loi Evin," PM says,

"The easiest way to amend the Loi Evin to allow the sponsorship of motor vehicle competitions by the tobacco industry is to obtain the inclusion of an article dealing with this question in an Omnibus Bill. ..Omnibus bills have two advantages:

-- They are generally a long list of very different articles amending very different laws, and are therefore difficult to discuss.

-- They are generally voted during the last two days of parliamentary sessions, and are therefore not scrutinized by the press and public interest groups."

PM further says,

"[Omnibus bills] provide the Government with an opportunity to adjust laws voted previously without having to re-open a political debate. They provide an opportunity to placate special-interest groups without having to do it openly, or even to reverse the Government's previous position at the cost of minimal political exposure..."

The Plan also indicates PM cultivated strong allies within the French government, and implies the companies could control these public servants to their advantage, saying "It will...be necessary to mobilize MP's and Senators" to propose such an amendment.

This document shows how Philip Morris works to alter laws in ways that make the company's involvement difficult to detect, and purposely tries to keep health authorities and consumer groups from discovering and discussing what the company is doing in that regard.

Fields

Quotes

FRANCE / SPONSORING BAN

BACKGROUND

The French anti-tobacco law, also known as the Loi Evin, will enter into force on January 1, 1993. In addition to its general advertising ban, the Loi Evin will make it impossible for Philip Morris to sponsor motor vehicle competitions or any other kind of events.

This situation poses a major problem for Philip Morris. Sponsorship hitherto has remained one of the few areas in which Philip Morris has retained some freedom to give its brands significant public exposure through broadcasts, photos and reports.

Moreover, sponsorship is not yet prohibited at the European level,and the ban in France may be used as a precedent at the EC level. This situation jeopardizes the sponsorship operations of Philip Morris on a European scale and could be reversed, if at all, only at great cost. Conversely, success at reinstalling sponsorship in France could provide significant impetus to Philip Morris' European efforts. Success of our proposed action plan would considerably benefit the French market and other markets at the EC. The current European context with regard to tobacco sponsorship legislation is still very much in flux, and the evolution of the French legislation may set a precedent one way or the other...

SITUATION ANALYSIS

• OBJECTIVE

To amend article 3 of the Loi Evin, and gain an exception to its sponsorship ban, most likely through a law contained in an omnibus bill.

STRATEGY

To achieve our objective, we must act on both grounds:

1. The suburbs and its solutions, 2. Sports and cultural sponsorship, in an effort to demonstrate that: * These events are popular, * Inhabitants of places where these events take place support their continuation, * Mobilization can take place and cause problems to the political equilibrium. --Endow sponsorship with a social dimension by taking advantage of the draft legislation on urban areas, which will probably ask corporations to help suburbs via sponsorship.

--Offer activities by tobacco companies as one solution for the severe urban problems.

--Mobilize parties with vested interests in current sponsorship activities.

--Use the problems of the inner-cities as a political cover for the proposed amendments.

REMARKS ON THE FRENCH SITUATION

Philip Morris has an opportunity to advance its goals in the current socio-political situation. The social problems of suburbs (roughly equivalent to those of US inner cities) are becoming a national issue in France, and a law that would set up a scheme through which private companies sponsor sports facilities and equipment is currently being considered.

In a nutshell, Philip Morris may be in a position to support the suburb sponsorship scheme in exchange for an exception to the sports sponsorship ban, specifically in respect to motor vehicle competition. Such a trade-off would also be of interest for the cities and regions in which motor vehicle events take place, because the upcoming ban would deprive them of significant financial resources.

[From Page 21, Bates No. 2501360193]:

3. THE SPECIFIC CASE OF OMNIBUS BILLS

3.1. The specificity of omnibus Bills

Omnibus Bills are used by the Government to pass a number of provisions which it does not want to publicize or about which it wishes the parliamentary discussion to be minimal. A number of new taxes and concessions to special-interest groups have been voted this way.

Omnibus Bills can contain mostly fiscal and financial provisions...or mostly social provisions. They are generally voted during the last day of the parliamentary session, and the parliamentary discussion is reduced to a minimum.

Omnibus Bills generally offer good opportunities to special-interest groups because the Government may be more prepared to make concessions through such Bills than through a formal amendment of the legislations concerned.

3.2 The procedure for amending an omnibus Bill

An omnibus Bill may be amended in the same manner as a normal Bill. This situation is however exceedingly rare, since the Bill is generally submitted almost unexpectedly on the last day of the session and the Government often prevents any amendment from being added to it.

In a nutshell, to obtain the inclusion of a provision in an omnibus Bill, it is necessary to either have lobbied very effectively the Government...or to have an amendment filed by a "friend of the Government"...

{From Page 24, Bates No. 2501360196]:

Re: How to amend the Loi Evin

The easiest way to amend the Loi Evin in order to allow the sponsorship of motor vehicle competitions by the tobacco industry is to obtain the inclusion of an article dealing with this questions in an omnibus Bill...

1. Omnibus Bills have two advantages:

--They are generally a long list of very different articles amending very different laws, and are therefore difficult to discuss.

--They are generally voted during the last two days of parliamentary sessions, and are therefore not scrutinized by the press and public interest groups.

2. Omnibus Bills provide the Government with an opportunity to adjust laws voted previously without having to re-open a political debate. They provide an opportunity to placate special-interest groups without having to do it openly, or even to reverse the Government's previous position at the cost of minimal political exposure...

...The last advantage of omnibus Bills is that one can always count on them: at every parliamentary session, each year, there is an omnibus Bill. IT is therefore less difficult to add a provision to such Bill t han to try to push a Bill/proposal through the parliamentary agenda.

Company

Philip Morris

Author

Philip Morris France Corporate Affairs Department

Recipient

Presumed corporate recipient, Philip Morris

Region

France

Type

REPT, REPORT, OTHER

AGEN, AGENDA

BUDG, BUDGET, BUDGET REVIEW

Litigation

Stmn/Produced

Named Person

Filippone, A.

Wirz, Gerard A. (PM Corporate Services, Brussels c.1990-94)

Gerard Wirz worked for Philip Morris Corporate Services, Inc. in Brussels. (PMI's Introduction to Privilege Log and Glossary of Names, Estate of Burl Butler v. PMI, et al, April 19, 1996)

Operation/Project

Countering/amending the French anti-tobacco law, Loi Evin

Named Organization

Centre De Documentation Et Dinformation

Constitutional Council

Council of Ministers

Council of State

EC - European Community

EPSY

French F1 Grand Prix - industry sponsored European auto competition

French NMA - French National [Tobacco] Manufacturers Assoc.

Groupement De Fournisseurs Communautaire

Magny Cours

Ministry of Youth + Sports

Natl Assembly

PMCS

PMI, Philip Morris International

Prime Ministers Office

Res

Sales

Senate

Special Interest Groups

Supreme Administrative Court

Vincent Georges

Burson Marsteller (Tobacco industry PR firm)

Tobacco Industry public relations firm.

Subject

legislation

industry activity

industry influence

industry recommendation

industry strategy

sponsorship