Shortly before the start of the Cannes Festival, 600 French filmmakers published an open letter warning of the growing influence of right-wing nationalist billionaire Vincent Bolloré on French cinema. The group “Zapper Bolloré” – meaning “zap away Bolloré” – criticizes that Bolloré, through his Canal+ group, could increasingly control the entire chain of film production: from financing to production to broadcast on television and on the big screen.
The reaction was not long in coming. Canal+, whose main shareholder is Bolloré, announced that it would no longer work with the signatories of the letter. A producer who wished to remain anonymous told ARD in Cannes: “At first I thought no one would talk about it after the festival. But producers’ unions and casting agents asked Canal+ about it. And they replied: ‘This is no joke.’ And I find that shocking.”
Background to the warning: Last autumn, Canal+ acquired around a third of the shares in the cinema chain UGC and plans to take it over completely by 2028. This could allow Bolloré, who already shapes news coverage in French election campaigns, to dominate the entire value chain of film. Critics see him and other billionaires like Pierre-Édouard Stérin as a “lever for the far right” in France.
The mood among festivalgoers in Cannes is, according to ARD, dejected, unsettled, and shocked. Many French filmmakers fear for their artistic independence if a single billionaire takes control of production, distribution, and broadcast.
Source: Tagesschau
