FSE backs anti‑Bolloré letter; Canal+ bans signatories
Get the Culture newsletter
Daily culture — film, music, books, the trends and ideas worth your attention. Free.
- FSE gathered 31 screenwriter organisations across 27 European countries, representing 10,000 professionals, to back the anti‑Bolloré letter at Cannes 2026.
- The letter was signed by roughly 600 cinema figures—including Juliette Binoche, Arthur Harari, and Bertrand Mandico—criticising Canal+’s 34% stake acquisition in UGC and warning it as a step in Vincent Bolloré’s expansion and right‑wing agenda.
- Canal+ CEO Maxime Saada announced at a Cannes producers lunch that the group would refuse to work with any signatory of the open letter.
- Two producer organisations publicly rejected the letter, fearing it would harm negotiations with the financier, yet Canal+ later reiterated its boycott of signatories, contradicting its claimed independence.
- FSE cited four incidents of editorial interference at Canal+, including a 2022 Le Canard Enchainé report that Bolloré forced script changes to the series Paris Police 1900 over laïcité content.
Why it matters: Canal+ loses collaboration with 600+ signatory creators, tightening its talent pool while the FSE’s unified stance pressures Bolloré’s media empire, potentially reshaping European production financing.
