The Four Color Media Monitor

The comics convention at Angouleme in France may have had some troubling cases before, but now, it looks like it's coming to a head with a scandal involving sexual assault that may have occurred involving a staffer who was fired after she reported the incident to the police. Here for starters is The Local's report:

One of the world's biggest comics festivals, which draws top graphic novelists and cartoonists each year, was close to cancellation on Wednesday after publishers pulled their support and the French government piled pressure on organisers.

The Angoulême International Comics Festival, held in January-February in the southwestern city, hands out annual prizes that are among the most coveted in the industry.

But it has been embroiled in a governance scandal since its most recent edition and faces allegations that an employee was fired after lodging a rape complaint.

After a boycott call earlier this month from major comics figures including "Maus" creator Art Spiegelman and 2025 winner Anouk Ricard, French publishing heavyweights issued a stark warning on Wednesday.

"Given this large-scale (boycott) movement which they understand, publishers believe that the 2026 edition can no longer take place," the French National Publishing Union (Syndicat national de l'édition, SNE), which represents 24 major publishers, said in a statement.

[...] The 9eArt+ director, Franck Bondoux, was the subject of an investigation by left-wing magazine l'Humanité before this year's event, which accused him of mismanagement and an increasingly contested style.

It also reported that the company had dismissed an employee shortly after she reported being raped at the 2024 event.

[...] The Angouleme festival is no stranger to controversy. In 2022, it had to cancel an appearance by French author Bastien Vives, who faced criticism for his graphic novels depicting incest and sexualised children.

Yes, I remember that revolting incident involving Mr. Vives, which certainly does give art a bad name, and there may have been at least one more writer with a questionable MO who attended the festival. If any of the allegations about last year are factual, it's only a terrible shame that the representatives claiming to be concerned are leftists themselves (I'm not forgetting how awful Spiegelman sadly is), and L'Humanite, from what I know, is owned by a French communist party.

Here's what Le Figaro now says, translated as best as possible from the original French:

The tumultuous Angoulême saga continues to unfold. On Wednesday, November 19, an allegation in the daily newspaper Libération confirmed the cancellation of the 53rd Angoulême International Comics Festival, initially scheduled for January 29 to February 1. This "erroneous information" was immediately denied by the festival organizers (FIBD 2026) in a press release issued shortly thereafter. The 9eArt+ association expressed its "hope that ongoing discussions will lead to a solution so that the 2026 edition can take place." According to them, nothing is yet set in stone.

According to the latest news, the Ministry of Culture, which is involved in the event, hopes "that a 2026 edition can be held without hiding the fact that the event is particularly challenging. We are at a turning point in the festival's history, which is facing difficulties and is in danger." The Nouvelle-Aquitaine region told AFP of its "desire to hold an edition in 2026" and to avoid a lost year, which could be "fatal." The mayor of Angoulême, Xavier Bonnefont, refuses to let the festival become "the focal point of all the issues to be resolved within the publishing world." "We have the impression that the problem lies elsewhere," he told AFP. "This is a national issue, and I believe the festival should not be held hostage simply because it holds a leading position."

However, a certain skepticism prevails among professionals. A press release from the SNE (National Publishers Association) welcomed "the major advances proposed by the public authorities for a historic reform of the festival's governance." The industry nevertheless expressed serious reservations about the 2026 edition, which is severely jeopardized by the widespread boycott by authors. "Given this large-scale movement, which they understand, publishers believe that the 2026 edition can no longer take place," the statement clarified.

The Ministry of Culture had already dampened Angoulême's hopes by stating that it had reduced its aid to the Angoulême Comics Festival, currently in crisis, by 200,000 euros after "shortcomings" during its 2025 edition. A cut deplored by local authorities.

Questioned on Tuesday at the National Assembly, the Minister of Culture, Rachida Dati, called for the festival to avoid "becoming a disaster starting with the 2026 edition," announcing a reduction of more than 60% in the state subsidy granted to 9e Art+. In total, local authorities and the state contribute nearly half of the festival's budget, which amounted to some €6.6 million in 2023, according to the latest available accounts from 9e Art+.

As of now, the de facto cancellation of the 2026 edition of the festival therefore seems likely. The repercussions on the revenue of Angoulême businesses (restaurateurs, hoteliers, etc.) will surely be felt. The negative image among foreign publishers will also be significant.

Consequently, a new edition is emerging that could refocus around the Cité de la bande dessinée (City of Comics). In any case, the erratic communication of recent weeks will seriously damage the event's reputation. We can already legitimately wonder how the public authorities will manage the festival's restructuring for 2027.

Assuming it even takes place at all. If the festival contributors by and large have been left-wing to date, it could be very ironic to some that left-wingers are the ones who might bring it down, in a classic case of devouring their own. Or maybe not. Scandals like this are nothing new. And when a convention like Angouleme can't enforce decent values, you can't be surprised if in the end, it'll bring the whole enterprise to a screeching halt. No doubt, it's a shame it's come to this, and observers could reasonably wonder if it's a sign where comics conventions are headed, and also movie conventions.

Labels: conventions, Europe and Asia, history, misogyny and racism, violence