The very first International Film Festival was supposed to take place in Cannes from September 1st to 20th, 1939. The war prevented it from happening. The event was once again aborted in 1940. It wasn’t until 1946 that it finally saw the light of day. In a way, the 2026 edition – which unveiled its selection this Thursday – is tied to this founding era. Cannes was also a response to the Venice Film Festival, which had become a platform for propaganda for Mussolini’s Italy and Hitler’s Germany.
This year, from May 12th to 23rd, “La Bataille de Gaulle” by Antonin Baudry (release date: June 3rd) will be presented out of competition. The film opens the diptych dedicated to Charles de Gaulle. This grand cinematic spectacle unfolds in two parts: “L’Âge de fer,” followed by “J’écris ton nom” (release date: July 3rd). The first part will walk the steps of the Palais des Festivals with a talented cast of French actors: Simon Abkarian, Benoît Magimel, Niels Schneider, Thierry Lhermitte, Karim Leklou, and Mathieu Kassovitz.
Written by Antonin Baudry and Bérénice Vila, based on the reference work by Julian T. Jackson, “De Gaulle, une certaine idée de la France,” the film follows the Resistance through the eyes of the general, between London, Paris, and Lyon. The synopsis sets the stage forcefully: “June 1940. France collapses and signs the armistice. In the midst of chaos, one man refuses to give in. Alone against all, this unknown general escapes to London to save what remains of a dream: freedom. Without an army, without support, without hope. But with a crazy conviction: France, his France, has not laid down arms.”
A film about Jean Moulin in competition
Jean Moulin will also be in Cannes. In competition, Hungarian director László Nemes signs a French-language film where Gilles Lellouche embodies the great figure of the Resistance. The story is based on verified facts: the parachute drop in occupied France to unify networks, the arrest in Lyon by the Gestapo of Klaus Barbie, torture, and death. “Moulin” will hit theaters on October 28th.
In the Cannes Première section, “La Troisième nuit,” directed and starring Daniel Auteuil, delves into France during the Occupation at the time of the major round-ups of foreign Jews orchestrated by Vichy. While a social worker for foreigners sets up a commission to sort out the fate of the arrested, the humanist abbé Alexandre Glasberg secretly maneuvers to save them.
The last days of Paty
In what Thierry Frémaux, Festival’s general delegate, calls the “cinema of history visit,” Vincent Garenq explores a more contemporary page with “L’Abandon”, selected out of competition. The film recounts the last 11 days of Samuel Paty, stabbed and beheaded by a Chechen jihadist on October 16, 2020, outside his school in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine. It is loosely inspired by Stéphane Simon’s book, “Les Derniers jours de Samuel Paty” (Plon, 2023).
Mickaëlle Paty, sister of the teacher, collaborated on the writing. Antoine Reinartz lends his features to the victim.
/2026/04/09/69d7bbe5b148b360515891.jpg "TRUE OR FALSE. Does the toll project in the Strait of Hormuz mentioned by Iran and Donald Trump violate international law?")
