Javier Bardem, Mark Ruffalo, Walter Salles, Isabel Coixet, Annemarie Jacir & Yorgos Lanthimos Sign Anti-Bolloré Letter As Signatures Swell To 3.5K
An open letter, initiated by members of the French cinema world to protest tycoon Vincent Bolloré’s growing control of France’s media and entertainment sectors, has started to gather international support.
Organisers of the letter entitled “Time To Switch-Off Bolloré” announced a raft of international signatories on Thursday evening, including Javier Bardem, Mark Ruffalo, Walter Salles, Ken Loach Isabel Coixet, Annemarie Jacir, Hany Abu Assad, Saleh Bakri, Aki Kaurismaki, Yorgos Lanthimos, Indya Moore, Laura Morante and producer Robyn Slovo, who previously worked with Canal+ subsidiary Studiocanal on Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and How To Stop Time.
Launched on the opening night of the Cannes Film Festival, the letter took aim at the Canal+ Group’s recent acquisition of a 34% stake in French production, distribution and exhibition major UGC, with an option to buy it outright by 2028.
It warned it marked a new step “in Vincent Bolloré’s expansion strategy”, suggesting it was part of a larger project to “push a right-wing, reactionary agenda” in France. Vincent Bolloré’s Bolloré Group is Canal+’s biggest shareholder with a 30% stake..
The initial 600 signatories hailing from the film world included Juliette Binoche, Cannes 2026 Palme d’Or contenders Arthur Harari and Bertrand Mandico as well as directors Yann Gonzalez, Sepideh Farsi and Jean-Pascal Zadi and actors Adèle Haenel, Zita Hanrot, Samuel Kircher, Ariane Labed, Anna Mouglalis.
The international support comes just days after Maxime Saada, Canal+ Chair and CEO hit back at the open letter saying his group would no longer work with its signatories.
The letter has sparked a mixed response from French professionals. While there is widespread sympathy for the concerns it raises, some hold that there are no signs of political interference in Canal+’s cinema activities as yet.
In the backdrop, Deadline hears some producers are furious about the timing of letter which has dropped while independent producer syndicates are in negotiations with Canal+ over its future cinema spending plans.
Canal+ is France’s biggest non-state cinema funder. In an accord agreed with the main producer associations in March 2025, the group pledged €480m ($558m) for cinema over three years, split between €150m (($174m) in 2025, €160m ($186m) in 2026 and €170m ($197m) in 2027.
However, Saada’s threat to boycott the letter’s original signatories has also provoked indignation and a ground swell of support for those targeted.
“There’s sense that everyone needs to sign this letter now to cancel Saada’s threat,” one industry figure told Deadline on Thursday.
On the sidelines of the debate, the Federation of Screenwriters in Europe (FSE), representing 10,000 writers across Europe, put out a statement on Thursday saying that the Canal+ case was symptomatic of growing threats to freedom of creation and expression across the region.
