Maxime Saada Denies There Is a ‘Blacklist’ for Those Who Signed Petition Against Vincent Bolloré, but Warns Canal+ Group Won’t Ignore Fascism Claims

Canal+ boss Maxime Saada sought to clarify his controversial comments regarding signatories of a petition criticizing Vincent Bolloré’s growing influence over French media, insisting there would be “absolutely no question of hunting [them] down” while defending Canal+’s role as one of the French film industry’s biggest financial backers.

Speaking at Canal+’s general assembly on Wednesday, Saada said his remarks made during the Cannes Film Festival had been distorted and pushed back against reports suggesting the company was creating a blacklist. It was Canal+ Group‘s second general assembly since being listed as a standalone banner, and splitting from its former parent company Vivendi, at the London stock exchange.

The controversy erupted after roughly 600 film professionals, including Juliette Binoche and Arthur Harari, signed a petition raising concerns over Canal+’s acquisition of a 34% stake in a leading French exhibition chain, UGC (with a potential move to full control by 2028); as well as highlighted the broader concentration of media power tied to Bolloré’s empire and a rightward editorial shift across its outlets in the run up to the 2027 presidential elections in France. Amplifying concerns over Bolloré’s ideological agenda is the presence of CNews, France’s equivalent to Fox News, within Canal+ Group. The banner was booed and whistled at Cannes screenings whenever the Canal+ logo appears onscreen.

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The backlash intensified after Saada said at Cannes that Canal+ would no longer work with signatories of the petition, prompting accusations of blacklisting and threats of legal action from some syndicates (La The Human Rights League and CGT Spectacle). Following Saada’s comments, the petition swelled to more than 3,500 signatures, drawing international support from Javier Bardem, Mark Ruffalo and Ken Loach, among others.

Standing before Canal+ Group shareholders today, Saada sought to minimize the scale of the clash, noting that France’s film industry employs roughly 250,000 people and arguing that only “between one and two percent” had signed the petition. “Approximately 99% did not recognize themselves in a petition that attacked Canal+,” Saada said.

Earlier this week, Cyrille Bolloré — who succeeded his father Vincent at the helm of the Bolloré Group in 2019 — also rejected accusations that the family was pursuing a political agenda, dismissing claims that the group was advancing a “neo-fascist” project as “a giant lie.”

Against that backdrop, Saada used Canal+’s annual general assembly to defend both the broadcaster’s reputation and its longstanding role as strong backer of French cinema, while making clear that attacks against the company would not be ignored.

“We experienced this as a profound injustice,” Saada said. “I have never spoken about a blacklist.”

“There is absolutely no question of hunting down technicians who signed the petition and refusing to finance films on which they work. That would be absurd. We have a basic conscience — we are not going to target people who depend on their work to earn a living. That was never the issue, and it never will be.”

Saada nevertheless acknowledged that filmmakers’ relationship with Canal+ would now factor into the company’s decision-making process.

“I want to be transparent: I will add one new dimension to how we assess projects,” Saada said. “The question will be: what regard do the people behind a project have for Canal+? Have they actively caused harm to Canal+?”

“If someone knocks on your door after calling you a fascist and asks you for money, you may choose not to give it,” he continued. “We will apply the same logic.”

The executive framed the controversy as an attack on Canal+ itself, rather than on Bolloré, whose family group remains Canal+’s reference shareholder with a 30.4% stake. While he officially retired in 2022, it’s well known that Bolloré (now 74) occasionally attends green-lighting committees at Canal+ Group, although his influence over decisions has seldom been proven apart from the notorious case of François Ozon’s “By the Grace of God” which wasn’t bought by the channel.

“When the words ‘fascist vision of the collective imagination’ are placed alongside the Canal+ name, it is the integrity and reputation of Canal+’s teams — and my own — that is being attacked,” Saada said.

Saada also forcefully defended Canal+’s track record in financing French cinema, arguing the company had played a crucial role in sustaining the industry over the last two decades.

“For the ten years I have been directly in charge, we have supported approximately 100 films per year — around 1,000 films in total, at least half of which would not have been made without Canal+,” Saada said.

“Our contractual obligations stand at approximately 100 million euros per year — but we have voluntarily committed to 160 million euros annually. This is not a matter of obligation; it is Canal+’s deliberate choice to support French and European cinema. We will continue to do so, in all its diversity,” he continued, citing films such as Boris Lojkine’s “Souleymane’s Story” about a Guinean delivery biker in Paris who is seeking asylum, and Dominik Moll’s “Case 137” about the yellow vest protests in France. Under its latest three-year agreement, Canal+ pledged to invest €480 million across three years until the end of 2027. The next round of negotiations for a new pact between producers and Canal+ is believed to have already begun and could be impacted by the ongoing conflict.

Beyond addressing the controversy, Saada used the shareholders meeting to outline Canal+’s broader international expansion and content strategy, including an announcement that StudioCanal and Working Title had secured rights to adapt “The Divorce,” the new novel by bestselling author Freida McFadden, whose “The Housemaid” became a global hit. He also teased a slate that includes a remake of “The Italian Job,” series adaptations of “Army of Darkness,” “Le Cercle Rouge” and “Non-Stop,” as well as a new live-action “Asterix” movie that will be directed by Jonathan Cohen and produced by Hugo Selignac’s Chi-Fou-Mi Productions.

Saada also detailed Canal+’s plans following its acquisition of African pay-TV giant MultiChoice, revealing an aggressive growth strategy aimed at reducing equipment costs, expanding the company’s sales network and hiring 1,000 additional sales staff across the continent, as well as ramping up investment in African storytelling. The company is behind a pair of African films that won prizes at Cannes: Marie-Clémentine Dusabejambo’s “Ben’imana” which became the first African film to win the Caméra d’Or, and Rafiki Fariala’s “Congo Boy,” which won a performance prize in Un Certain Regard for Bradely Fiomona.