“Let’s build together a movement capable of defending our independence and the possibility of creating, broadcasting and programming freely.” In the middle of the Cannes Film Festival, some 600 film professionals signed a column published in Libérationto denounce “the growing influence” by Vincent Bolloré on cinema.
Through this text, actors like Swann Arlaud and Juliette Binoche are alarmed by the intention of the Canal+ group, of which the ultraconservative billionaire is the reference shareholder, to get its hands on UGC, the third largest network of French cinemas. This project has worried the world of the 7th art, since in the fall Canal+ formalized the repurchase of part of the capital of UGC, up to 34%, with the ambition of acquiring 100% of the shares by 2028.
The UGC group is a French audiovisual giant. It represents 48 cinemas and more than 500 rooms in France, according to the group, including the busiest in the world, the UGC Ciné Cité Les Halles, in Paris, which records more than 3 million admissions per year. This takeover by Canal+ also targets the UGC production and distribution company. For its part, the Canal+ group is the leading private financier of French cinema, with some 220 million euros invested per year.
If the operation is successful, Canal+ and its company StudioCanal would be present in force at all stages of the life of a film, from its pre-financing to its television broadcast, including its exhibition in theaters. And this is precisely what alerts the signatories of the platform.
“Any phenomenon of market concentration can only occur to the detriment of works of diversity and a rich offering, ultimately threatening the very capacity of audiences to discover them”was concerned in September by the association of independent filmmakers Acid, which organizes a parallel section at the Cannes Festival each year.
“[Vincent] Bolloré will be in a position to control the entire film production chain, from their financing to their distribution on small and large screens.”
More than 600 cinema professionalsin a column published in “Libération”
Rosalie Brun, general delegate of the Society of Film Directors, which brings together 500 filmmakers, also fears a shrinking of a sector otherwise weakened by the drop in cinema attendance. “The more concentration we have, the worse we are”she explains to AFP.
At the start of its life, a film must find a distributor who will grant it pre-financing and, at the end of the chain, will ensure its promotion and release in France, or even abroad. The choice of a distributor often influences the level of financing that television channels will agree to release to support a film.
However, by fully purchasing UGC, Canal+ would include UGC’s distribution company, at the risk of eliminating an actor to whom productions can currently turn for financing. “We would lose a huge wicket”deplored an independent producer to AFP in September.
The signatories of the forum, which also include the actors Jean-Pascal Zadi, Adèle Haenel, and Vimala Pons, the producer Rémi Bonhomme, and the directors Raymond Depardon and Arthur Harari, also believe that “By leaving French cinema in the hands of a far-right boss, we risk not only a standardization of films, but a fascist takeover of the collective imagination.
“If the influence of this ideological offensive on the content of films has been discreet for the moment, we have no illusions: it will not last,” write these producers, cinema operators, filmmakers, technicians and actors. The signatories affirm that “the billionaire does not hide the fact that he is leading a ‘civilizational project’, a far-right reactionary, through his TV channels like CNews and its publishing houses”.
Questioned Tuesday on this forum, the director Pierre Salvadori, who presented The Electric Venus opening in Cannes, said to understand “this emotion and this worry”while nuanced. “Canal+ has an obligation to invest in cinema. This obligation is regulated: there are diversity clauses, there are volume clauses and a guarantee of independence”, a déclaré was filmed at a press conference. “As long as they respect that, I’m comfortable. (…) I won’t make any more films if they don’t let me do it with freedom”, he warned.
Concern about the growing place of Vincent Bolloré goes beyond the world of cinema. Many unions, associations and personalities have denounced for several years the growing control of businessmen over industry and the media and “reactionary ideology” which is defended there. In April, hundreds of publishing professionals protested against the dismissal of Olivier Nora, the CEO of Grasset, a publishing house of the Hachette group, in the ultraconservative billionaire’s orbit.
The protest extended to the music world. At the end of April, Dominique A decided to no longer play in concert halls owned by Vincent Bolloré, such as the Olympia or the Casino de Paris. The singer claims that the powerful boss “does everything possible to ensure that the National Rally comes to power, in an increasingly proactive manner”.
In a rare statement, through a column published on April 19 in the Sunday newspaperpress title also in his purse, Vincent Bolloré reacted to “attacks concerning (s)on ‘ideology'”. “I am a Christian Democrat and the leaders of Hachette will continue to publish all authors who wish to do so”he assured. Contacted by franceinfo, the Canal+ group did not wish to comment on the subject. The UGC theater network, for its part, did not respond to our requests.
Representatives of professional organizations from the world of cinema, interviewed by The Worldse montrent réservés. “The signatories shout before they hurt”estimates Marie Masmonteil, president of the feature films office at the Union of Independent Producers (SPI). “The parallel with Grasset does not hold”assures Zoe Wittock, co-president of the Society of Film Directors (SRF).
“At Grasset, the authors only have one contact. In cinema, Canal+ is a financier among others, and this diversity of ticket offices preserves the freedom of creation,” she says. “We will remain very attentive”however, warns the president of the Union of Cinema Producers, Marc Missonnier.
“The legislator will perhaps have to wonder about these questions”for his part reacted on Wednesday on France Inter the general director of the Cannes Festival. Thierry Frémaux believes in particular that French law lags behind American rules. “In the United States, (…) it has been no longer possible for a long time: studios cannot own cinemas”he recalls, in reference to a 1948 Supreme Court decision aimed at guaranteeing competition.
On the political side, communist senator Jérémy Bacchi, member of the culture commission, believes that the takeover of UGC by Canal+ “could constitute a direct threat to creative freedom and cultural pluralism”. With the Public Senate, the elected official calls for “secure governance” large financing groups in order to avoid any “ideological interference in works”.
On the right, Jean-Raymond Hugonet, related senator from Les Républicains, asks “when was cultural independence called into question” by Vincent Bolloré. However, he recognizes the need “of a framework” to avoid “unbridled capitalism”.
