Art is "made to entertain, but also to warn" : in Cannes, the Goncourt Laurent Mauvignier prize supports the signatories of the anti-Bolloré platform

The writer took Friday, May 22, the defense of the signatories of the anti-Bolloré tribune. “Literature and cinema, contrary to what we often hear, are not just about entertainment. Art is perhaps partly made to entertain but also to warn”declared to AFP Laurent Mauvignier, Goncourt Prize 2025, in Cannes, where the adaptation of his book Night stories is in the running for the Palme d’Or.

The world of cinema has been in turmoil since the decision on Sunday by the boss of Canal to boycott professionals who signed a petition on “the influence of the extreme right“, attributed to Vincent Bolloré, the group’s reference shareholder.”I look at this with some concern and a little dismay. I find that all of this is still extremely violent“, assures the author of The Empty Housewhich detects a “tipping point” et “an ideological hardening”.

In mid-April, the announcement of the ousting of the boss of Grasset Olivier Nora, a publishing house in the hands of Vincent Bolloré, had already raised a storm in publishing and revolted more than 200 authors. “I sometimes hear that it’s just a small corporate problem when it raises questions that affect absolutely everyonee”, details the writer, calling for “preserve a space of freedom but also of a possible opening”.

According to him, the Canal+ and Grasset cases show that the far right has fully grasped the issues for “shape the famous national narrative”. “The far right has a quality at this time“, he quips, “it’s because they know that culture is dangerous, it’s important.”