As the Cannes Film Festival starts its 79th edition on Tuesday, 600 French film industry professionals, including directors, actors, technicians, and producers, have published a fiery article in the newspaper Libération.
In this text, they denounce the “tentacular and ideological” influence of Vincent Bolloré on the French film industry. They raise concerns about the increasing concentration of media and cultural power in the hands of the Breton billionaire.
Among the collective group known as “Zapper Bolloré,” are actresses Adèle Haenel, Juliette Binoche, or Blanche Gardin, actors Swann Arlaud and Jean-Pascal Zadi, photographer and documentary filmmaker Raymond Depardon, as well as director and screenwriter Arthur Harari.
The 600 signatories highlight that the Canal+ group, where Vincent Bolloré is the reference shareholder, “has acquired 34% of UGC’s capital, the third-largest cinema chain (there are 521 cinemas in France), with the firm intention of acquiring 100% of the shares by the end of 2028.”
They believe that this operation would significantly strengthen Vincent Bolloré’s influence in the sector, giving him control over the entire film production chain, from financing to distribution on screens big and small.
Canal+ also plays a role in financing French cinema, with the channel being one of the main investors committed to investing a minimum of 480 million euros in the sector from 2025-2027.
For many producers, distributors, or operators, it has become almost impossible to develop certain film projects without the financial support of the group.
An Ideology That Disturbs
The signatories also argue that behind his image as a businessman, the billionaire first assumes a “civilizational project” that they describe as “shareholder and extreme right-wing, acting through his television channels like CNews and publishing houses.”
“We are not only facing a standardization of films, but a fascist control over the collective imaginary,” they write.
They add that “if the influence of this ideological offensive on the content of films has been discreet so far, we have no illusions: this will not last,” and call to “build together a movement capable of defending independence.”
This public statement today was not a coincidence. By choosing the Cannes Film Festival, an international showcase of cinema where creation is celebrated, the authors of the article aim to make an impact and especially take advantage of the presence of numerous journalists from around the world. They fear that the artistic freedom cherished by the festival is also at risk and that ultimately, French cinema may become more of a cultural influence instrument than a true artistic space of freedom.
Grasset: Foreign Writers Rise Up
Since April, the publishing house Grasset has been facing an unprecedented crisis following the dismissal of its CEO, Olivier Nora, after more than 25 years, replaced by Jean-Christophe Thiery, a loyalist of the billionaire.
The conflict revolved around the release of “La Légende,” the latest book by Boualem Sansal, which Hachette’s management (Grasset’s parent company) reportedly wanted to rush against the historic editor’s advice. What could have been an office quarrel turned into a massive exodus.
After more than 200 French authors left, including names like Virginie Despentes, Dan Franck, Gaël Faye, Bernard-Henri Levy, or Sorj Chalandon, it is now the turn of the international scene to show solidarity.
In a joint statement published on May 11, the majority of foreign authors in Grasset’s catalog announced that they would no longer submit their future manuscripts to the publisher. This solidarity marks a turning point.
“As authors published on the international list of Grasset editions, we express our deep concern about the future of this publishing house, its editorial integrity, and the teams that make it come alive,” these authors state in the text.
“We refuse to have our work used for political purposes that we do not share. The extreme right acts beyond borders; it must be fought beyond borders. In these circumstances, we will not submit our future works to Grasset,” they write.
For these American, British, Italian, and South Korean writers like the Nobel Prize winner for literature in 2024, Han Kang, Grasset “represented a certain idea of French cultural exception and editorial independence.”
Vincent Bolloré Deaf to Criticism
Is this Bolloré’s influence on the cultural sector now irresistible or still debatable?
The “noise of a ‘small caste that thinks it’s above everything and everyone,'” denounced on April 19 by Vincent Bolloré in one of his publications, Le Journal du Dimanche, actually appears as the rallying cry of a milieu feeling pressure from a major capital provider.
Even if he claims to continue on this path, the risk for the Bolloré empire is now to find itself at the head of prestigious but emptied structures: publishing houses without renowned writers.
