![\"French](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/646771fc870e05782ac7ab73aeb685da.jpeg\")
French billionaire Vincent Bollore owns the Canal+ media group (Thomas SAMSON) \u00b7 Thomas SAMSON\/AFP\/AFP <\/p>\n French billionaire Vincent Bollore owns the Canal+ media group (Thomas SAMSON) \u00b7 Thomas SAMSON\/AFP\/AFP <\/p>\n
France’s government Tuesday waded into a row that has sent shockwaves through the domestic cinema industry after the head of France’s biggest film producer, Canal+, said the group would no longer work with signatories of a petition against right-wing billionaire owner Vincent Bollore.<\/p>\n
Culture Minister Catherine Pegard described the comments by Canal+ chief executive Maxime Saada, made during the Cannes Film Festival, as “disproportionate” and said she understood the concerns of signatories.<\/p>\n
The petition, initially signed by 600 industry professionals, urged a mobilisation against “the growing grip of the far right” on the film industry under the influence of Bollore and the Canal+ group.<\/p>\n
Signatories included French star Juliette Binoche as well as director Arthur Harari, who co-wrote the Oscar-winning “Anatomy of a Fall” in 2023, as well as that film’s prominent French star Swann Arlaud.<\/p>\n
“This company’s major role in cinema gives it a voice that matters,” Pegard told parliament, referring to Canal+.<\/p>\n
“I regret that the response — disproportionate to say the least given to the very real concerns that have been expressed — is only fuelling them,” she added.<\/p>\n
The minister said she had “heard the emotion, the concern being expressed in the film industry” and voiced hope that “reason and dialogue will prevail over threats”.<\/p>\n
– Upheaval –<\/p>\n
Saada, speaking on Sunday, had described the petition “as an injustice toward the Canal+ teams”.<\/p>\n
He added: “I will no longer work with and I no longer want Canal to work with the people who signed that petition.”<\/p>\n
The uproar mirrors similar upheaval in the media and publishing worlds where Bollore, a conservative close to far-right politicians, is reshaping businesses he controls, from television channels to publishing houses.<\/p>\n
In a sign of Bollore’s divisive reputation, the Canal+ logo was booed in Cannes at some screenings this year, including for the opening film “The Electric Kiss”.<\/p>\n
Last month, more than 100 authors at the Bollore-owned Grasset publishing group, home to some of the biggest names in French literature, said they would leave after the ousting of its long-time CEO.<\/p>\n
The aggressive expansion into the French media in recent years of the billionaire —\u00a0a devout Catholic who made his money in logistics — has been cheered by conservatives as rebalancing what they see as long-standing left-wing bias.<\/p>\n
Bollore’s media stable now includes widely followed outlets including the CNews rolling news channel and Europe 1 radio, whose voices will be key in 2027 presidential elections where the far-right of Marine Le Pen scents its best ever chance of winning the Elysee.<\/p>\n
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