"No funding for their film": Canal+ CEO put pressure on French film industry

Although a mega-deal has just been struck with the French film industry, that hasn’t stopped the Canal+ CEO from confirming his threat: he will cut off funding to any players in the sector who damage the group’s image.

The day after signing a massive 980-million-euro deal with the French film industry (covering the period from 2028 to 2032), Maxime Saada was keen to reaffirm his position in the face of detractors and the various criticisms leveled at his group. Referring to the op-ed published at the Cannes Film Festival, which denounced “the growing influence of the far right” embodied by shareholder Vincent Bolloré, the head of Canal+ warned that he “forgets nothing.”

“If people damage Canal+’s image, we will not finance their films,” he stated. “This is something that will be taken into consideration, and it seems only natural.” The executive said he did not intend to create a “blacklist” and further maintained that the network would uphold its policy of “diversity in French cinema,” particularly in support of “debut films, young talent, and animation.”