Canal+ to Blacklist Film Professionals Who Signed Anti-Bolloré Petition

Maxime Saada, chief executive of Canal+, announced at Cannes that the company will stop working with any film professional who signed the open letter criticizing owner Vincent Bolloré. Saada called the petition “an injustice to Canal+ staff” and said he “no longer wants Canal to work with the people who signed that petition.”

The Guardian

Vincent Bolloré, a right-wing billionaire industrialist, controls a media group that includes Canal+, StudioCanal, the news channel CNews, radio Europe 1 and the Sunday paper Le Journal du Dimanche. Canal+ is increasing its stake in UGC, France’s third-largest cinema chain, with a plan to acquire full ownership by 2028. In early May, more than 600 cinema figures—including Juliette Binoche, Raymond Depardon, Sepideh Farsi and Arthur Harari—signed an open letter warning that Bolloré’s expanding control could “standardise films” and enable “a fascist takeover of the collective imagination.”

The Guardian

Saada framed the blacklist as a safeguard for Canal+’s editorial independence and programming diversity. In a 2022 Senate hearing, Bolloré denied any political or ideological agenda, describing his media investments as financially driven and aimed at promoting French soft power. After the publishing protest, he wrote in Le Journal du Dimanche that the departing authors were “a tiny caste who think themselves above everyone else” and identified himself as a “Christian democrat.”

The Guardian

The petition argued that Bolloré’s control of the “entire fabrication chain” from financing to distribution threatens artistic freedom. Grasset authors who quit wrote, “We refuse to be hostages in an ideological war that seeks to impose authoritarianism everywhere in culture and the media.” The Canal+ logo was booed at several Cannes screenings, including the opening film *The Electric Kiss*.

The Guardian

Signatories claim an imminent ideological takeover of French cinema, while Bolloré maintains his actions are purely commercial. The sources provide no independent verification of direct editorial interference.

The Guardian

• “They said that “leaving French cinema in the hands of a far-right owner” risked “not only the standardisation of films, but a fascist takeover of the collective imagination”.” — Open Letter, signatories

The Guardian

• “I will no longer work with and I no longer want Canal to work with the people who signed that petition.” — Maxime Saada, Canal+ chief executive

The Guardian

• “We refuse to be hostages in an ideological war that seeks to impose authoritarianism everywhere in culture and the media,” — Grasset authors

The Guardian

• “As for the attacks concerning my ‘ideology’, I’m a Christian democrat.” — Vincent Bolloré, Le Journal du Dimanche

The Guardian

The blacklist could reshape Cannes programming and future StudioCanal collaborations. Canal+’s planned full acquisition of UGC in 2028 will further concentrate control over French film distribution, likely prompting continued scrutiny from cultural workers and policymakers.

The Guardian