“After literature, the censor Bolloré now wants to control filmmaking. It is unacceptable to allow a billionaire to threaten artists in this way,” said hard-left leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon, threatening to dismantle Bolloré’s empire. Socialist leader Olivier Faure slammed the move by Canal+ as a sign that “the far right has never liked freedom, creativity, or public service.”
More diplomatically, Culture Minister Catherine Pégard regretted Canal+’s “disproportionate, to say the least” reaction to “the very real concerns that were raised.”
The conservative mayor of Cannes, David Lisnard, slammed the artists as masochists for “biting the hand that feeds them.”
Canal+ declined POLITICO’s request for comment, but Bolloré’s son, Cyrille, president of the Bolloré group, brushed off fears on Wednesday that Canal+ would choose projects based on political orientation.
“No, there is no political project,” he said.
France’s Citizen Kane
The uproar has illustrated how deeply connected French cinema is to Canal+, which financed seven of the nine movies that won awards at Cannes this year, including the prestigious Palme d’Or.