The battle between Canal+ and certain players is no longer stopping. On May 12, on the eve of the Cannes Film Festival, several artists signed an op-ed “zap Bolloré” in the columns of Libération. More than 500 people denounced “the influence of the extreme right” on French cinema, via Vincent Bolloré, major shareholder of Canal+.
A few days later, the chairman of the board of Canal+, Maxime Saada, indicated that he no longer wanted to see his group finance the projects of some 600 signatories of this text. A figure which has today risen to more than 1,200 signatures since 651 artists have joined the “Zapper Bolloré” collective, in reaction to these announcements from the group.
A disproportionate response?
The Minister of Culture Catherine Pégard said on Tuesday that she regretted the “disproportionate” response from the boss of Canal+ who declared that he no longer wanted to work with the signatories of an anti-Bolloré forum. “The major place of this company in cinema gives it a voice that counts. I regret that the response, disproportionate at the very least, given to the very real concerns expressed, has heightened them,” the minister said during the government questions session.
Several actors in the world of cinema are worried about this latest speech. The association of film directors (SRF) believes that “mediation” would “reestablish trust” between the protagonists of the conflict which falls in the middle of the Cannes festival.
/2026/04/29/69f21b1cc1ed7519888335.jpg "Anti-Bolloré column: the Minister of Culture, Catherine Pgard, regrets the response \"disproportionate\" from the boss of Canal+")
