The French government plans to close the Institut national de la consommation (INC) and sell its magazine “60 Millions de Consommateurs” as part of the 2026 budget, according to a collective tribune. This independent media outlet, dedicated to consumer defense, is seen as a democratic pillar at risk from this measure. Political, union, and associative figures warn of threats to citizen information and protection.
In the draft finance law for 2026, article 71 provides for the abolition of the Institut national de la consommation (INC) and the sale of its magazine “60 Millions de Consommateurs” to a private entity. This provision, which has gone almost unnoticed amid debates on suspending pension reform and the public deficit, has raised concerns from a collective of political, union, and associative figures, who published a tribune in Le Monde.
The INC, established over fifty years ago, and its magazine serve as an essential counter-power against economic abuses. “Destroying a counter-power weakens democracy,” the signatories assert. The monthly publication, independent and publicly funded, symbolically belongs to France’s 68 million citizens, not to the state or a private group. It has been alerting the public for decades to scandals: hormones and antibiotics in veal in 1974, dangerous baby car seats in 1976, failing hospital emergencies in 1992, hazardous Pailleron schools in 1994, undignified nursing homes in 1998, abusive property managers in 2007, or pesticides in diapers and menstrual products in 2017.
This closure is not merely the end of a media title but an assault on consumers’ rights to be informed, protected, and heard. In an era dominated by global commerce giants, eliminating this common good undermines citizens’ ability to counter the “law of the jungle.” The tribune’s authors urge a return to reason to preserve this institution, foundational to a real democracy where citizens are informed and empowered.