ANGOULÊME: 9e Art+ and Association FIBD mount lawsuit to stop replacement festival

9e Art+ and Association FIBD’s threatened legal action to halt the open call for a replacement to the Angoulême International Comics Festival (FIBD) has moved forward. According to reports, a court summons has been issued to the Association for the Development of Comics in Angoulême (ADBDA), with a preliminary date set for 9.30am, March 18.

Filed with the Angoulême judicial court, Franck Bondoux (through his festival operating company 9e Art+) and original festival owner Association FIBD also demand compensation for the losses incurred by the cancellation of this year’s Angoulême International Comics Festival (FIBD) in late 2025, with a starting amount at €300,000 ($350,000). The Association FIBD, owners of the original festival founded in 1974, also filed a separate legal complaint of defamation directed exclusively at Angoulême’s current mayor Xavier Bonnefont.

The ADBDA is an organisation that brings together public funders (national, regional, départmental, and local) with comics publishing and author representative organisations. It was initially founded as a mediative forum between various Angoulême Festival stakeholders and the Association FIBD, after a previous existential crisis in 2017. During the 2025 crisis that effectively ended the 53-year-old French cultural institution (one of the world’s largest dedicated comics events), the ADBDA was the means by which public representatives and aggrieved parties that had en masse boycotted the planned January Angoulême Festival 2026 could ensure a future for comics events in the town. Angoulême Festival owner Association FIBD chose to absent itself entirely from the emergency meetings and the outcome was a reformed ADBDA and a plan to start a brand new show. On January 9, the new ADBDA launched its call for proposals.

The main lawsuit is the same one announced by Franck Bondoux at a Paris press conference on January 29, in which he said he would attempt an injunction to halt the open call for a replacement festival, and sue the ADBDA on the grounds of “unfair competition” and reputational “parasitism”. Parasitism being disguising a product or service as a more popular brand.

The official legal filing and court date were first reported by Agence France-Presse on Wednesday (February 25). According to the documents they had seen, it demands €300,000 in damages as a starting amount, split €250,000 to Bondoux’s festival operating company 9e Art+ and €50,000 to Association FIBD. It then mentions an additional €1,000 ($1,200) penalty for every violation discovered. The documental allegedly also emphasizes that 9e Art+, under the original contract, is still officially the only legally permitted organiser for the early 2027 edition of Angoulême Festival.

Although quickly reported in local and national news, the ADBDA – including its president David Caméo and Angoulême mayor Xavier Bonnefont – were both unaware that any court summons had been issued. Sources suggest that the ADBDA is unlikely to make a public statement in response and will instead see whether 9e Art+ and Association FIBD’s claims can realistically hold up in court.

A later press release/social media statement from the Association FIBD also implied that there had been regular attempts at communication and dialogue with the ADBDA and the public authorities (they may or may not have realistically occurred). 

“For months, the Association has sought to prioritize dialogue and responsibility in order to preserve the public interest and ensure the continuity of the Angoulême International Comics Festival.

“In this spirit, the Association formally proposed the opening of negotiations with the public authorities. Several official letters were sent to the authorities concerned in order to initiate a constructive exchange and reach a mutually agreed solution. To date, these requests have remained unanswered.”

One curiosity about this case is the surprisingly low starting amount demanded in compensation. Either there is a big surprise yet to be unveiled, if this the main lawsuit Bondoux plans to conduct, or is this just an hors-d’œuvre before the main course.

Association FIBD v. Bonnefont

Association FIBD filed a separate case Wednesday against Angoulême’s mayor Xavier Bonnefont on the grounds of defamation. Announced on their social media channel, the Association FIBD posted [translated by DeepL, emojis retained from original post]:

“Complaint filed against Xavier Bonnefont, mayor of Angoulême‍⚖️

“The Association du Festival International de la Bande Dessinée (FIBD) and its president, Delphine Groux, announce that a complaint has been filed with the public prosecutor following public remarks made by Xavier Bonnefont, mayor of Angoulême, during the Town council meeting on December 3, 2025.

“They jointly note that the words spoken on that occasion, which were contrary to the measure that should prevail on the part of a representative of public authority, contributed significantly to the release of abusive, hateful, and threatening comments on social media.

“The purpose of the complaint is to enable the competent judicial authority to assess the legal classification of the remarks made and, if necessary, to draw the conclusions provided for by law. It now intends to let justice take its course.”

In December 2025, at the first town hall meeting following the collapse of the festival two days prior, Bonnefont made a speech where he laid all fault for the festival’s demise at the feet of Association FIBD’s president Delphine Groux. He claimed that the Association FIBD’s open call process for a new organiser to run the festival lacked transparency and believed Groux personally sabotaged the process to retain the wildly unpopular and controversial incumbent 9e Art+. When this result was officially announced November 8, mass author boycotts immediately spread, publishers joined in, and public bodies who supply up to 50% of the festival’s budget likewise withdrew their support. Franck Bondoux and his company 9e Art+ officially announced the cancellation of the 2026 festival on December 1 (and also threatened to sue the public bodies – which includes the town mayor up to the French culture ministry). 

As we reported at the time, Bonnefont said at the meeting:

“We fought for the Association to make a transparent choice. Despite our vigilance, the Association’s president, Delphine Groux, sabotaged the call for tenders with her manoeuvres. She refused to accept qualified candidates and refused to present the rankings and selection criteria. There was no transparency in the selection process, no transparency in the choice. The Association, through its president, made opacity its religion. She committed a wrong against the festival, against comic books, against Angoulême.”

Mayor Bonnefont, who is presently campaigning for reelection, responded on Thursday, saying that he was at the disposal of the public prosecutor and:

“I confirm that there is no defamation in the statements in question and stand by everything I said that day in the council meeting.”

The current Association FIBD is no longer the same one during the 2025 crisis. A number of resignations have taken place with only Groux loyalists seemingly remaining. They immediately reappointed her Association FIBD president, despite widespread calls from the entire French comics industry for her resignation in November 2025. Expect things to get heated.

On the bright side, in trying to prove their respective cases, we might potentially discover more about what exactly happened behind the scenes.

À suivre

Association FIBD social media post announcing the court summons against the ADBDA, posted January 25, separate to post re: case against mayor Bonnefont [translated by DeepL, original post emojis retained]:

ADBDA summons: February 24, 2026.

Faced with disrespect and expropriation: the Association FIBD and 9e Art+ take action and refer the matter to the courts

Yesterday, the judicial officer issued a summons to the ADBDA, as announced on January 29, 2026.

For months, the Association has sought to prioritize dialogue and responsibility in order to preserve the public interest and ensure the continuity of the Angoulême International Comics Festival.

In this spirit, the Association formally proposed the opening of negotiations with the public authorities. Several official letters were sent to the authorities concerned in order to initiate a constructive exchange and reach a mutually agreed solution. To date, these requests have remained unanswered.

Out of a sense of responsibility, the Association has chosen, despite the initially damaging interventions of other stakeholders, not to speak publicly or initiate legal proceedings, in order to leave room for possible negotiation. This stance was aimed exclusively at preserving the conditions necessary for the continuity of the event and avoiding any escalation that would be detrimental to the FIBD, its partners, and its audience.

The Association reached out to elected officials to negotiate the continuity of the Festival, in particular to maintain its presence in Angoulême, ensure its economic development, and promote its international influence.

The Association has been met with a wall of silence. It therefore had no choice but to take legal action.

The Association deeply regrets that the legal aspects of this situation are being dismissed, and even more so that its economic and social repercussions are being downplayed.

At this stage, initial estimates indicate that the region will lose several million euros in revenue and hundreds of jobs will be lost, jeopardizing a local ecosystem that has been patiently built up over more than 50 years.

Beyond the immediate situation, it is now the very future of the FIBD that is in question, starting with the organization of the 2027 edition, which has been contractually entrusted to 9eArt+.

This approach in no way constitutes a renunciation of dialogue. On the contrary, it aims to ensure that the law is respected, to preserve the interests of the region, and to guarantee the future of the FIBD within a secure, transparent framework that complies with the commitments made.

The Association reaffirms its willingness to engage in any fair and constructive discussion in the best interests of the Festival, its partners, and the public.