French cinema faces reckoning as media mogul Bolloré blacklists stars for daring to challenge him

The blacklist was announced at Cannes, where one of the world's most prestigious film festivals was already under way, sending an immediate chill through the industry. 

Chairman Maxime Saada said on Sunday that he no longer wanted Canal+ to work with the hundreds of industry professionals who had signed a petition accusing billionaire Vincent Bolloré, the controlling shareholder of Canal+, of leading a far-right "civilisational project". 

Published in French daily "Libération" on the eve of Cannes' opening and signed by some of France's best-known filmmakers and actors – including Juliette Binoche, Cédric Klapisch and Gilles Lellouche – the petition denounced what it called the "growing grip of the far right" on French cinema, channelled largely through Bolloré.

The billionaire mogul "makes no secret of the fact that he is leading a reactionary, far-right 'civilisational project'", the signatories wrote, adding: "While the influence of this ideological offensive on the content of films has been discreet so far, we are under no illusions: it won't last."

The response was sweeping. 

"I saw that petition as an injustice towards the Canal+ teams, who are committed to defending Canal+'s independence and the full diversity of its choices," Saada said on the sidelines of the festival on Sunday. 

"I will no longer work with, and I no longer want Canal to work with, the people who signed that petition."  

Canal+ is France's largest film and TV production company. Its in-house subsidiary StudioCanal is Europe’s leading film and television studio, with worldwide distribution.

Bolloré's media empire also includes the CNews television station and Europe 1 radio, two outlets frequently criticised for amplifying far-right narratives.

Watch moreExploring France's media landscape: A billionaire's playground?

Saada's announcement quickly prompted comparisons to one of Hollywood's darkest periods.

"This kind of blacklist recalls McCarthyism in the 1940s, when the studio system sidelined anyone suspected of holding 'un-American' views and derailed or ended careers," says FRANCE 24 culture journalist Olivia Salazar-Winspear.

"Excluding these people from Canal+ productions would have major consequences for the future of the industry."

Bolloré is often described as France's answer to Rupert Murdoch, a comparison Salazar-Winspear considers fitting. "He is firmly right-wing, and if you look at the media outlets he owns – CNews, Europe 1 – these are platforms that do not shy away from giving airtime to far-right voices," she said.

Read moreHow Bolloré, the ‘French Murdoch’, carried Le Pen’s far right to the brink of power

The industry's biggest player  

The threat from Canal+ carries particular weight because of its outsized role in French cinema, underscoring the industry's dependence on its funding decisions.

According to figures from the CNC, France's national film funding body, in 2024 the Canal+ group received 43.6% of all investments made in French broadcasting and streaming content. The group pre-bought the rights to 74% of French feature films produced that year, with an average contribution of €1.3 million per film. A new three-year agreement signed in 2025 commits Canal+ to investing at least €480 million in French cinema through 2027.

Film journalist Estelle Aubin described the scale of the group's influence in stark terms. "Canal+ is the leading financier of French cinema," she said. "They invest huge sums in films before they are even made, paying producers upfront. Without that, the entire ecosystem is at risk."

Watch moreFrench media tycoon Vincent Bolloré casts shadow over Cannes opening

Aubin noted that the latest controversy follows a tense stand-off last year between Saada and producers over the "chronologie des médias", the rules governing when streaming platforms can show films after their theatrical release. When Disney+ secured a shorter exclusivity window, Saada threatened to reduce Canal+'s investment commitments.

"He issued an ultimatum," Aubin said. "The whole sector was frightened. Films would simply stop being made." 

‘Wake-up call’

Bolloré's ambitions in cinema extend beyond Canal+. Last year, the group acquired a 34% stake in UGC, France's second-largest cinema chain, with a path to full ownership by 2028.

For Salomé Gadafi, deputy secretary-general of the CGT Spectacle entertainment union, the strategy is clear. "He is trying to control the entire production chain," she said. "What is happening now is a wake-up call for the sector, just as it was in the press and publishing industries."

The comparison is telling. French weekly newspaper "Le Journal du Dimanche" was shaken by strikes in 2023 after a Bolloré-backed editor took over. The Éditions Grasset publishing house has also faced turmoil since entering Bolloré's orbit. Each time, the same pattern: an acquisition followed by a gradual editorial shift.

Read moreTurmoil at publisher owned by French billionaire Bolloré sparks exodus of top authors

At Canal+, direct intervention has so far remained limited – but visible. Bolloré, a practising Catholic, reportedly blocked the acquisition of Grâce à Dieu (By the Grace of God), a film about clerical sexual abuse directed by François Ozon, despite prior approval by Canal+ executives. He also reportedly pushed writers on the Canal+ series Paris Police 1905 to remove references to France's 1905 law separating church and state. 

CGT’s Gadafi argues that the fears of professional retaliation are palpable. "In our sector, blacklisting is something very real – we've seen lists circulating with people labelled as ... ‘difficult’ because they asked to be paid money they were owed," she says.

"But you cannot blacklist an entire profession. This is the moment for people to stand together."

Read moreMacron takes on ‘French Murdoch’ in battle against disinformation

For culture reporter Aubin, the timing of Saada's remarks was significant. "Cannes is cinema's international shop window," she said. "It's the moment when the industry reflects on itself. That's why this debate is erupting here."

For now, no major filmmaker or producer has publicly said they will stop working with Canal+. The financial reality makes such a break difficult to imagine. But in Cannes, a subject long discussed only in private has now burst into the open – and the French film industry may find it harder to look away.