French broadcaster warns far-right is undermining French cinema

The far-right Rassemblement National's plan to privatize public broadcasting will destroy French cinema and deprive it of one of its biggest investors, French TV film director Manuel Alduy has warned. Public television will no longer invest in French films. And since there are no such films for free-to-air commercial television, [...]

"There will be no more investment by public television in French feature films. And since there are not enough such films for free commercial television, there will be fewer French films produced and impoverished French films in financing," said Alduy, who oversees cinema and international series at France Télévisions, in a message sent to Variety. RELATED STORIES Apple's Newest AirPods Max Get Rare $120 Prime Day Discount Joe Rogan Extends Nine-Figure Spotify Deal

His comments come as the Rassemblement National (RN), led by Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella, is leading polls in the run up to the 2027 presidential election (whose first round will take place on April 18). Popular in Variety

Like any far-right party, Rassemblement National is a major threat to the cultural sector. But in France, that threat is even more potent because the country's vibrant film community relies significantly on investments from broadcasters, as well as subsidies distributed by the National Film Board (CNC) to finance films.

In its latest budget proposal, unveiled earlier this month, the party outlined plans to dismantle the National Film Board, privatize public broadcasting and slash public broadcasting funding by €3.5 billion by 2028, a cut of more than 90%, while a handful of media outlets, including Arte and Franceinfo, are available to the public.

France Télévisions is one of the pillars of the French film financing system, which annually invests more than 60 million euros in the pre-financing of more than 60 films, nearly a third of which are first or second films. Many of these films have difficulty attracting financing from commercial broadcasters, such as TF1 or M6, or even broadcasters, whose investments are more focused on mainstream fare.

It is not only French cinema that is affected by the loss of public television support. International independent cinema will also feel this blow. At this year's Cannes Film Festival, 81 percent of the films that premiered were financed by France. More specifically, French television financed seven of the 22 films in the competition. In addition to French-language films such as Jean Harry's Another Day starring Adele Exarchoulos, it supported films such as Christian Mongiou's Palme d'Or winner Fjord, Ryosuke Hamaguchi's Sudden and James Gray's Paper Tiger. Meanwhile, the CNC supported 69 films that are playing in the official selection. The CNC's resources come not from taxpayers, but from taxes on all theatrical admissions (including Hollywood blockbusters) that are returned to the industry - a rare and virtuous model that is the envy of many film communities around the world.

French television is currently facing a 47 million euro budget cut for 2027 as part of its financial law (fixing the budget of the national government), and a further 47 million euro cut in subsidies; While lawmakers are considering plans to divert some CNC resources to state coffers.

More than 170 filmmakers, including Palme d'Or winners Jacques Audiard, Justin Tritt and the Dardenne brothers, alongside Costa-Gavras, Michel Hazanavicius, Julia Ducournau, Claire Denis, Matthieu Diop and Agnes Xavi, have signed an open letter that could lead to an O war on Le40. Fewer French films have been produced in five years. They also demanded the approval of a new cinema law to support the financing system and adapt it to the streaming era.

"At a time when cultural sovereignty is unanimously celebrated in public discourse, the new budget bill risks the unprecedented disappearance of French cinema from our screens," the letter reads. "Fighting to keep the work of the CNC, to restore funding for public broadcasting, or to maintain a reduced value-added tax (VAT) rate for all cultural industries means defending a system and principles that have helped to maintain a vibrant and dynamic culture in France for years."

The letter refers to the fact that Canal+, France's largest private cinema investor, has threatened to pull out of its €1 billion ($1.1 billion) investment deal with the French film industry if the government's plans to double the VAT rate on pay-TV subscriptions from 10 percent to 20 percent go ahead.

The proposed tax increase, included in the government's draft 2027 finance bill, would cost Canal+ around €200 million a year, according to president Maxim Sada.

Saada said on France's RTL radio earlier this month that the move effectively voids the company's five-year deal with French film organizations signed in July, which commits Canal+ to investing nearly €1 billion in French and European films between 2028 and 2032.

In their open letter, the filmmakers estimated that the collapse of the Canal Plus contract alone would result in a €750 million deficit for French cinema over five years.

The threats come as Netflix, which is set to become France's largest private contributor to local productions for the first time in 2025, has called for investment restrictions.

Last year, the broadcaster invested 308 million euros in audiovisual and cinema productions. And while France Télévisions is the biggest backer with a €476 million investment in film and television by 2025, Netflix could overtake public broadcasting by 2030.

On the TV side, the broadcaster has increasingly had to partner with broadcasters to finance ambitious TV series, but such partnerships don't work on theatrical films due to country window rules.

The French film community is also concerned about the increasing dominance of streamers over local content production.

Broadcast platforms, mostly American, impose unprecedented standardization on content. The weakening of our cinema means in this open letter that it impoverishes our French and European identity.