Angoulême International Comics Festival 2026 should be cancelled. That seems to be the resounding message from publishers, authors…and as of today public partners – including the town mayor. The final fateful decision is now in the hands of controversial showrunner 9e Art+, which as of yesterday still claimed talks were ongoing. It’s the latest twist in the ongoing controversy that has rocked one of the largest dedicated comics events in the world.
| The Story So Far: France’s Angoulême Festival has been in a state of crisis since November 8, when a process for the next show organiser by owner Association FIBD yielded the continuation of the widely unpopular showrunner 9e Art+. The company and its owner Franck Bondoux have regularly faced accusations of financial irregularities, misogyny, toxic management culture, and overcommercialisation of an event considered a public good and of national significance. Authors widely declared they were boycotting with publishers rapidly withdrawing from the event. All demanded the cancellation of the controversial result, the removal of Franck Bondoux and 9e Art+ as festival organiser, and the removal of Association FIBD president Delphine Groux who oversaw a bidding process considered untransparent and compromised. With the scandal being covered in the national press, and with the future of a local institution under threat, mayor of Angoulême Xavier Bonnefont intervened and engaged in emergency mediation talks. |
In a press conference this afternoon, Angoulême mayor Xavier Bonnefont and other representatives of local, regional, departmental, and national partners took stock of the situation. They said given the scale of boycott action initiated by the November 8 decision to keep 9e Art+ until 2036, the next Angoulême Comics Festival (set to take place January 29 to February 1, 2026) is effectively unviable. According to Bonnefont it would be “extremely complicated” since all authors and publishers groups refuse to attend an event organised and represented by 9e Art+, its owner Franck Bondoux, and overseen by Association FIBD president Delphine Groux.
While the public partners cannot directly cancel the event, they can withhold public funds which make up around 50% of its budget. It now remains in the hands of 9e Art+ to read the writing on the wall.
As reported by Charente Libre, Bonnefont said:
“It appears to us to be extremely complicated to organize the 2026 edition…We are therefore asking the Association FIBD and the organizer [9e Art+] to draw the conclusions that this reality imposes.”
This decision by public partners would not have come lightly for Bonnefont, as the collapse of one of the most important events of the year in his constituency a few months before his reelection campaign would have been a bitter pill to swallow.
On Thursday morning, hours before the scheduled press conference, Association FIBD president Delphine Groux sent a lengthy email giving her side of the story. In it she claims little responsibility for the current crisis, that the open bidding process for a new showrunner was fairly done, and that the disappearance of the two requested independent professional jurors were also not her doing. She also claims the current environment was bred by fake news and a campaign to settle scores.
The letter is over 1,500 words but the gist of it:
“How did we get here?…To put it simply, by refusing to be robbed, by resisting this long-planned heist, accompanied by blatant parasitism and abuse of power, we have chosen not to renounce our independence and our values. By not adopting a more docile attitude, we chose to give up our existence rather than remain quietly subservient.”
Also:
“Do you believe that our defense of the cause of the festival, which has always been paramount in our eyes, deserved to bring this upon us?
“These practices, worthy of the The Terror, weaken democracy, where misinformation spreads through ‘online justice,’ or rather online injustice.”
Mixed Messages – But A Future Is Possible
Confusion and miscommunication seemed top of the menu much of this week. An emergency meeting last Friday gave a roadmap for the future of the Angoulême Festival.
Last Friday the Association for the Development of Comics in Angoulême (ADBDA) held an emergency session. Represented within the ADBDA are French national, regional, and local public partners, publishers groups, and SNAC (National Union of Authors and Composers) – the latter of which returned after having resigned in protest in October.
At the meeting the future operation of the Angoulême Festival, post-crisis, was outlined: ADBDA would temporarily take over the running of the festival for its 2027 edition while overseeing a new procedure for identifying and onboarding a suitable replacement as show organiser (starting with the 2028 edition). The ADBDA would also see further expansion to become more inclusive of stakeholders, with additional author representation to be invited. All of the changes would be defined and put in action over the coming months. No decision was made at the meeting on 2026 which remains operated by 9e Art+ in what is seemingly now to be its final year as show organiser, ending a year earlier than originally contracted. The groups behind the major petition and boycott movement, the Inter-Org BD, were included in this meeting, joining established author union member SNAC (which was not a signatory of the petition). Also, while it mentions a replacement for Groux, there is no indication she had stepped down or been removed as Association FIBD president.
The ADBDA was formed in 2017 following a mediation process conducted by the French Ministry of Culture after the last major crisis the festival faced. In 2016, a globally infamous Grand Prix longlist devoid of women cartoonists and other major gaffs cast the entire organization of the show in doubt. That debacle immediately led to plans for a full boycott by publishers of the 2017 edition unless radical change was made. The ADBDA gave representation to major stakeholders in the festival and provided a forum for discussion of crucial issues. Festival owner Association FIBD (whose full membership and decision processes aren’t fully known) is also part of this body. With the ADBDA now taking over the Association FIBD’s recently-botched procedure of finding an alternative showrunner, it is arguable that the ADBDA has now stripped powers once exclusively held by the Association, putting it further to the sidelines.
Come Monday the ADBDA proposal had suddenly been assumed to be policy and the mayor had declared the 2026 event was going ahead (even though it wasn’t really a point of consideration), serving as the perfect venue for the opening session of the expanded ADBDA. This led to some confusion since the organisers of the boycott were not involved in the Friday meeting, and the upcoming festival was not discussed. The Syndicat National de l’Édition (SNE) of major Franco-Belgian publishing houses also took this as a signal and started pressing their authors to end their boycott and make preparations to attend.
This attitude was not uniform, however. Alternative publishers group Syndicat des éditeurs alternatifs (SEA) had released their own response that same day. While welcoming the way forward, it reiterated one demand:
“The SEA once again calls for the resignation of the president of the Association FIBD, Delphine Groux, who bears a heavy responsibility for the current crisis.”
And backed up authors groups, saying:
“The SEA also wishes to reiterate its support for the artists in their demands for a more respectful and inclusive festival and calls for these demands to be taken into account immediately by the current management.”
By Tuesday both SNAC and the coalition of author unions had released their own independent statements. In essense they were all standing firm: unless Bondoux, Groux, and 9e Art+ are all completely removed from the festival, no one was coming to 2026.
With SNAC saying:
“The public authorities’ initiative to take back control of the festival seems to be a step in the right direction. However, before inviting the interprofessional association for a group photo, this new and unusual collective determination must be put into practice with thoughtfulness and without haste. Our autonomy and our freedom of speech and expression are as fundamental to us as the basis of our activity, which is focused on defending the rights of authors.
“We therefore categorically refuse to be a moral and union guarantor, whose sole purpose would be to stifle legitimate anger… Or worse! To play into the hands of electoral agendas imposing initiatives decided in haste and without any proven guarantees!
“We repeat here: we will not participate—in any way whatsoever—in the Angoulême Festival in 2026.”
By Wednesday, the SNE got the message, releasing a press release to declare they were all officially boycotting 2026. Saying:
“They [comics publishers of the SNE] understand the position of the authors’ unions, the manifesto of the 285 authors, and the call from Grand Prix winners not to attend the 2026 edition. Given this large-scale movement, which they understand, the publishers believe that the 2026 edition can no longer take place.
“They call for a calming of tensions, which is expected by all, and will participate in the renewal initiated by the public authorities to build the festival of tomorrow starting in 2027, and contributing to the promotion of bande dessinée/comic books in France and abroad.”
Also on Tuesday – after over a week of silence, and having been pressed on the matter a few times by members of the French National Assembly – the Minister of Culture Rachida Dati made a somewhat confusing statement whereby she said the state would step up by reducing its subsidy to the festival by 60%, she would personally monitor the 2026 event, and that the Association president had actually stepped down. This was all later clarified by the Culture Ministry on Wednesday.
With the release of the SNE’s Wednesday morning statement, French newspapers broadly took this as a sign that the 2026 edition is ‘officially’ cancelled and reported it as such. With no authors or publishers prepared to attend a 9e Art+ organised and operated event, it seems highly unlikely (but probably not impossible) that the January 2026 Angoulême Festival can go ahead. That hasn’t stopped Angoulême mayor Bonnefont, whose re-election bid takes place in March, from trying…or Culture Minister Dati, who has plans to run for Mayor of Paris next year (and needs as much good press as she can get before going on trial for corruption in September 2026). And, of course, 9e Art+ needs 2026 to happen because they might go bust otherwise. Since 9e Art+ control the festival’s official email account, the company sent a press release disputing the claims of cancellation made in the French press, saying talks were still ongoing.
From 9e Art+/the official festival press account:
“the Festival organization [9e Art+] is awaiting further developments and remains open to any form of discussion….It hopes that the ongoing discussions will lead to a solution that will allow the 2026 edition to take place”
The Authors Deliver Terms
Affiliated authors unions have scored quite a victory. The establishing of the ‘boycott/girlcott’ petition in April, getting the support of a wide swathe of the French industry as well as over 2,000 signatures, and providing the means to turn wider collective outrage into action on November 8 has given creative professionals in the French comics industry a platform to be heard. While the groups all called for change and gave a general outline of their demands, it was time to mutually agree and clarify them.
On Tuesday the authors coalition of nine union groups (Inter-Org BD) submitted their letter to the public authorities. They accepted the broadening of the ADBDA to better represent authors and other professional industry stakeholders in the revival of the festival.
In their letter, they said:
“Thanks to an unprecedented mobilization of the comic book industry, public funders have finally taken stock of the situation after years of appeals. We believe that the overhaul of the ADBDA is a good way forward, and we are satisfied that the festival association is stepping aside in favor of the former. We acknowledge the historic desire to change the governance of this festival, which is central to the comic book industry. We now await the resignation of Delphine Groux from her position as president of the Association FIBD.
They added:
“The situation crystallizes many of the problems of our time: sexual harassment and sexual violence, autarkic governance, widespread contempt for workers including volunteers, commercial exploitation, ableism, etc. Consequently, we will not participate in the 2026 edition.”
“…The festival cannot be rebuilt without us, which is why we will be present at the general assembly of the new ADBDA, to listen to your proposals and discuss our demands, on which we will be uncompromising.”
SNAC also submitted its own proposals for an FIBD 3.0 this week.
Is it on? Is it off? Will the authors get the change they want to see? The future is clearer but the short term is still being decided.
À suivre… [To be continued…]
Note: All quotes and provided text in this article produced via DeepL translation
Full list of demands from the Inter-Organisation BD Group (aka authors union coalition)
LIST OF DEMANDS:
Resignation of Delphine Groux and Franck Bondoux.
Resignation of problematic employees at 9e Art+
Transparency of 9e Art+ accounts
FOR AUTHORS:
Recognition of all comic book professions:
Equal remuneration of copyright for dedications, standardized rates for display rights (including exhibitions in SNCF train stations)
Professional days
Fair programming: making room for scriptwriters, colorists, translators, letterers, etc.
Setting up a dedicated space for union information, meetings, and dialogue between authors and unions during the festival.
Working conditions and facilities at the festival:
Women’s, men’s, and gender-neutral toilets near the festival stands
Adapting the schedule, and failing that, providing fast-track access for exhibitions
Systematically inviting selected authors (hotel, meals, travel)
A space reserved for authors (for rest during the day, for parties in the evening)
A daycare for authors with children
Facilitation by the town hall to encourage residents to welcome guests into their homes, with a code of conduct, to involve local residents in the festival
Community canteen for authors, with low prices
FOR SEXUAL VIOLENCE AND HARASSMENT:
Code of conduct against sexual violence and harassment that commits all exhibitors, service providers, and stakeholders in the broadest sense.
Training for the festival operator on the subject for their entire team, as required by law.
Sexual violence and harassment advisors employed for the duration of the festival for authors, employees, volunteers, and festival attendees.
FOR THE PUBLIC:
Explore the possibility of making the festival free of charge, or otherwise:
More affordable packages for everyone (e.g., an exclusive exhibition package)
Preferential rates for locals
A quiet space for visitors
FOR THE FESTIVAL IN GENERAL:
Transparency in the festival’s accounts and budgets
Transparency of exhibition budgets to promote the representation of creativity in all its diversity, with a commitment that half of the budget allocated by the festival to exhibitions will be spent on alternative and independent creativity.
A code of ethics for the artistic direction to avoid special arrangements or conflicts of interest
Sponsors who have a minimum of logic and decency
Charter against discrimination (racism, anti-Semitism, sexism, LGBTphobia, etc.)
Overall improvement of accessibility
Health measures for the Bulles (marketplaces) and enclosed spaces at the festival (distribution of FFP2 masks, air purifiers, etc.)
Prizes awarded without any obligation to produce anything afterwards
No more competition between albums, but rather promotion as in Montreuil
Offer the selection of albums to all selected authors
Juries composed solely of comic book professionals
Less expensive booths
Association FIBD president Delphine Groux email sent to members, morning of November 20 — publicly shared by Charente Libre
Dear members,
As I write this letter, the 2026 edition of the Festival is seriously in jeopardy.
If it does not take place, it will be a disaster for us all, causing harm to many and representing a failure for the Charente region, primarily for the people of Angoulême, local businesses, and a long list of other direct and indirect victims and collateral damage. And how can we forget the authors themselves, despite their clear stance?
How can we not also spare a thought for the teams at 9e Art+, who have continued to work to deliver this edition?
Some are participating in a head-chopping dance, while others are fanning the still-hot embers of what was, in January 2025, an absolute local, national, and global success.
How did we get here? We will, of course, have the opportunity to discuss this question.
To put it simply, by refusing to be robbed, by resisting this long-planned heist, accompanied by blatant parasitism and abuse of power, we have chosen not to renounce our independence and our values. By not adopting a more docile attitude, we chose to give up our existence rather than remain quietly subservient.
Perhaps we were wrong to believe that our convictions, fiercely defended since our inception, would withstand this environment of misinformation and democratic denial and remain the guarantee of the Festival’s longevity.
Should we have accepted to compromise our founding principles of independence, ethics, fairness, and preservation of our freedom of action in the face of political and economic pressures?
Should we have accepted a denial of our associative capacity, which has served as our compass for more than 50 years?
Should we have bowed down to the point of allowing our decision-making prerogatives to be destroyed?
Should we have rejected the candidacy of 9e Art+, on the same basis as the others, on the pretext of unsubstantiated accusations, when we had already begun restructuring our foundations months ago?
Should we have chosen a media group (with a dominant position) to buy our peace and avoid media assassination [referring to vocal critic Charente Libre’s owner Sud-Ouest group]? Should we have chosen a publishers’ union to avoid a boycott, regardless of the authors’ boycott?
Many lies have been told—such as the alleged refusal on our part to include a qualified individual alongside our association jury—many accusations of incompetence have been levelled at us, and many prejudices have been imposed on us. Every barrier has been crossed.
We have had enough of these threats, insults, and denigration. I have personally received death threats (!) and threats to my physical integrity, as well as a barrage of insults. The Association has also had its share of obscenities.
Do you believe that our defense of the cause of the festival, which has always been paramount in our eyes, deserved to bring this upon us?
These practices, worthy of the The Terror, weaken democracy, where misinformation spreads through “online justice,” or rather online injustice.
We did not want to retaliate in order to protect the Festival, paradoxically also in the interest of those who were attacking us. No doubt we were wrong, judging by what is being inflicted on us today.
We are above all men and women of dignity, honesty, and conscience. We have worked behind the scenes, rigorously, without reporting or complaining about the pressure we may have been under. I salute and warmly thank the members of the college of associates for their commitment, their distinction, and the dedication they have shown in the trials they are de facto sharing today.
Now is not the time to analyze the irrationality that has overwhelmed us, nor to assign blame, nor to denounce the public authorities whom we have alerted on numerous occasions and who have allowed things to be said and done.
We have been proactive, listening to and taking into account the requests made to us. Let us remember that we never received any input from publishers and authors that would have enabled us to include them: regarding the competition and its content, the schedule that was postponed several times, and the qualified personality, which was accepted once again, contrary to what was reported in the media and by the unions.
The Association, and more specifically its representatives, 12 members of the associate college, treated the five applications received from the candidates with complete fairness, respect, and impartiality. Our decision to select the two final candidates was taken unanimously in the presence of our lawyer/advisor, who accompanied us throughout the process.
We selected 9ème Art + and the Cité Internationale de la Bande Dessinée et de l’Image [Cité de la BD], two candidates with complementary skills despite the organizational weaknesses of the Cité, which could have been offset by the aforementioned complementarity. We identified that this approach could be carried out in a clear context, since Frank Bondoux had already publicly announced his withdrawal in advance and in the application submitted by 9e Art +, and guaranteed that he would ensure the 2026 and 2027 editions in accordance with the contract that binds us. As for Vincent Eches’ mandate with the Cité, it was for the same period, ending in June 2028.
We therefore chose two organizations, each established and experienced in their field, rather than individuals. One organization with experienced staff for organizing a festival in Angoulême and one organization with strong local roots, in contact with authors throughout the year and with an international focus. We thus closed the competitive bidding process.
This solution was presented to the public authorities, who indicated their agreement in principle in a press release that you received.
Unfortunately, after initiating the first steps toward bringing the two organizations together, the Cité (represented by its CEO and president), despite the agreement of their supervisory authority, refused to work with 9e Art +.
This situation opened the door to new and increasingly virulent criticism. Faced with this new wave of irrationality, we nevertheless set about looking for another, highly practical solution, proposing a steering committee made up of public funders, professionals, the President of the ADBDA, and ourselves, even agreeing to be in the minority, in order to calm heated tempers and reach a consensus.
It cost us, but once again, we did it in the best interests of the event, comic books, and… the public.
Once again, this was refused.
Weary, after a final negotiation with the ADBDA, we agreed to join this body, which we had quite logically refused to join 10 years ago in order to preserve our independence, and to participate in its meetings as guest members. Once again, we did this for the Festival. It was at our request, and not that of the elected officials, that Dominique Bréchoteau and Jacques Bernat agreed to sit on the board during the preparatory work.
The newspapers and social media are providing only very fragmented and distorted information.
Perhaps you have read the SNAC BD project that the union produced recently. If necessary, I can send you the link so you can form your own opinion about their “project.”
For those of you who are on Facebook, I also invite you to read this very touching testimony by Simona Mogavino:
As I write these lines, I am told that some authors are reconsidering their decision.
After the completely unrealistic statements made by Ms. Dati (who fully understood the importance of the festival, and as a result had 60% of its state subsidy cut), in response to the RN deputy from Charente, after the reactions of professionals in the region, and the region’s authors, who are now all weighing up the effects of a cancellation, you can see that every hour of the day brings its own flood of contradictions and new statements.
Please also note that I have deliberately not mentioned the “criticisms” levelled at 9e Art +. I will respond to these at a later date. However, it is necessary to state now that we would never have supported anyone who could be dishonest, who behaved in a toxic manner, as suggested, for example, with regard to turnover (although this is not within our remit, we will explain precisely what toxic behavior looks like), or who failed to take VHSS into account. We cannot be complicit in these accusations.
On the other hand, we have always been very clear on this subject: as a good professional, particularly in the events industry, [Franck Bondoux] should have had better communication skills and shown more empathy.
We will keep you informed as developments are finalized and reliable information becomes available.
Finally, we will also be able to discuss this at our next annual general meeting, which will be held before the end of the year, once the Association’s Board of Directors has approved the dates, within the time frame provided for in the bylaws.
I hope I have answered some of the many questions raised by the situation, but I am aware that many factors and points could not be covered in this email. I look forward to seeing you as soon as possible.
Yours sincerely,
Delphine Groux
9e Art+ Press Release sent via official Festival channel, morning of November 19
The Festival organizers are listening to the event’s stakeholders and the communications they have been issuing over the past several days.
They are also aware that the event’s public funders are in constant dialogue with members of various representative bodies for these same stakeholders, authors’ and publishers’ unions, and that meetings with them are scheduled for this week.
For the time being, having expressed its views and taken action to facilitate the implementation of solutions to preserve the integrity and continuity of the event, the Festival organization is awaiting further developments and remains open to any form of discussion.
It hopes that the ongoing discussions will lead to a solution that will allow the 2026 edition to take place, in the interests of the comic book ecosystem and out of respect for an audience of enthusiasts of this unique medium, an audience that it has always managed to engage throughout its half-century of existence.
Note: this press release refutes the erroneous information provided by Libération in its online article published today.
SNE Press Release, November 19
Comic book publishers belonging to the Syndicat national de l’édition welcome the major advances proposed by the public authorities for a historic reform of the governance of the Angoulême International Comics Festival.
The comic book publishers of the Syndicat national de l’édition welcome the major advances proposed by the public authorities for a historic reform of the governance of the Angoulême International Comics Festival.
They welcome the fact that all stakeholders (authors, publishers, and public authorities) will be able to come together within the ADBDA (Association for the Development of Comics in Angoulême) to oversee the upcoming competition to select the festival’s new organizer.
They take note of Franck Bondoux’s immediate withdrawal and the fact that the seat reserved for the Association FIBD within this new governance structure will not be filled by Delphine Groux.
Among their expectations and demands, the publishers of the SNE – Comics Group will be particularly vigilant with regard to the implementation of strong measures to combat sexism and sexual violence. They will also be attentive to the method of implementation of the next call for tenders and the reform of the ADBDA’s statutes.
They understand the position of the authors’ unions, the manifesto of the 285 authors, and the call from Grand Prix winners not to attend the 2026 edition. Given this large-scale movement, which they understand, the publishers believe that the 2026 edition can no longer take place.
They call for a calming of tensions, which is expected by all, and will participate in the renewal initiated by the public authorities to build the festival of tomorrow starting in 2027, and contributing to the promotion of bande dessinée/comic books in France and abroad.
Inter-Organisation BD Group (aka, author union coalition) to public partners, Tuesday November 18. Note: this was delivered alongside the list of demands.
To the public funders of the Angoulême Festival,
Thanks to an unprecedented mobilization of the comic book industry, public funders have finally taken stock of the situation after years of appeals. We believe that the overhaul of the ADBDA is a good way forward, and we are satisfied that the festival association is stepping aside in favor of the former. We acknowledge the historic desire to change the governance of this festival, which is central to the comic book industry. We now await the resignation of Delphine Groux from her position as president of the Association FIBD.
We feel it is important to emphasize that such an overhaul of the festival, however necessary and desirable it may be, cannot be done without us, comic book industry professionals, as we have reminded you on numerous occasions. Nevertheless, this cannot be done in a hurry.
Public funders must recognize that the political landscape for authors has changed; we are no longer in 2016. Massive cuts to culture budgets and the increasing precariousness of our professions have only accelerated our collective organization, and as you have seen, we are now capable of coming together en masse to defend our working conditions. We insist that the boycott/girlcott be maintained: it is impossible to scale back the mobilization as long as the company 9e Art+ is leading the event, even with the promise that Franck Bondoux will withdraw.
The situation crystallizes many of the problems of our time: sexual harassment and sexual violence, autarkic governance, widespread contempt for workers, including volunteers, commercial exploitation, ableism, etc. Consequently, we will not participate in the 2026 edition.
For all these reasons, we also support the manifesto published by 285 comic book artists on Monday, November 17, 2025, in L’Humanité. We invite you to read it.
The festival cannot be rebuilt without us, which is why we will be present at the general assembly of the new ADBDA, mentioned in your press release, to listen to your proposals and discuss our demands, on which we will be uncompromising. However, this founding general meeting cannot reasonably be held in January 2026 during a festival that is under boycott. The Inter-Organisation BD Group is at your disposal to discuss another schedule.
Signatories:
STAA CNT-SO
MeTooBD
SNAP-CGT
La Ligue des auteurs professionnels
Snéad-CGT
ABDIL
Le Collectif des créateurices de BD contre le sexisme
La Charte des Auteurs et Illustrateurs jeunesse
Les États Généraux de la Bande Dessinée
Alternative publishers group, Syndicat des Éditeurs Alternatifs (SEA) — Press release, November 17
The SEA welcomes the major step forward represented by the reform of the governance of the Angoulême festival, announced by the public authorities in their press release of November 17.
The SEA will play its full part in the new configuration of the ADBDA, which will run the festival in the future. The SEA will ensure that the diversity of comic book publishing is well represented in this structure and will support the demands of artists, who will have to play a major role in this reform.
Furthermore, the SEA once again calls for the resignation of the president of the Association FIBD, Delphine Groux, who bears a heavy responsibility for the current crisis.
The SEA also wishes to reiterate its support for the artists in their demands for a more respectful and inclusive festival and calls for these demands to be taken into account immediately by the current management.
While the SEA is fully satisfied with the takeover of the Festival by the artists, publishers, and public authorities, the fact remains that not all problems have been resolved. The responses have come very late, despite our repeated warnings over the last few months. The publishing houses that are members of the SEA will therefore each decide whether to participate in the 2026 edition of the Festival.
Syndicat national des auteurs et des compositeurs (SNAC) Comics Group, Press Release — November 17
FIBD: A step up for authors
With nearly 20 years of experience and the expertise of its leaders committed to the cause of authors (remuneration at festivals, professional round tables, annotated contracts, etc.), the SNAC Comics Group wishes to contribute to the discussion on the overhaul of the Angoulême Festival.
The public authorities’ initiative to take back control of the festival seems to be a step in the right direction. However, before inviting the interprofessional association for a group photo, this new and unusual collective determination must be put into practice with thoughtfulness and without haste. Our autonomy and our freedom of speech and expression are as fundamental to us as the basis of our activity, which is focused on defending the rights of authors.
We therefore categorically refuse to be a moral and union guarantor, whose sole purpose would be to stifle legitimate anger… Or worse! To play into the hands of electoral agendas imposing initiatives decided in haste and without any proven guarantees!
We repeat here: we will not participate—in any way whatsoever—in the Angoulême Festival in 2026.
Nevertheless, in order to move forward, we propose the document “FIBD 3.0.” In the works for many months, it is the legacy of the struggles for La chAAArte BD and the festivals of Autrices Auteurs en Action (AAA), and this structural crisis of the Angoulême Festival has allowed us to put the finishing touches on it. It represents a vision, a narrative, a re-imagining of the Angoulême Festival and our profession.
We invite public authorities, publishers, potential organizing structures, and authors who subscribe to it to take it up and share it widely.
Press release from the public partners of the Angoulême Festival — November 17
More than 50 years after its creation, the Angoulême International Comics Festival is threatened by a major crisis of widespread mistrust among professionals.
We, the festival’s public partners, are fully aware that it is the authors and their publishers who make the festival what it is. We wish to reestablish a constructive dialogue with them in order to reshape the festival.
We have noted the failure of the competitive bidding process organized by the Association FIBD to select the operator who will organize the festival in the future.
We acknowledge the immediate withdrawal of Franck Bondoux and the end of the Association FIBD’s collaboration with his companies 9e Art+ and Partnership Consulting: the teams presently in place will run the festival in 2026 and we will ensure that they take immediate measures in favor of authors.
Moving forward, and in order to rebuild trust, we propose to professionals that the ADBDA, which brings together public authorities, professionals, and the festival, oversee the next competitive bidding process to select a successor to the current organizer.
We announce that, in this case, the ADBDA will take into account, in this future competitive bidding process, the expectations expressed by various stakeholders regarding improvements to the Angoulême Comics Festival, in particular the defense of authors’ rights, the guarantee of exhibition rights, the improvement of reception conditions, and transparency in the organization.
We will ensure that the fight against sexual and sexist violence and harassment is a priority in the selection of candidates and in the implementation of future editions.
To this end, the ADBDA’s statutes will be updated to give professionals (authors, publishers) their rightful place and to broaden the space for exchange.
We would like to point out that the seat of the historic Association FIBD within the ADBDA will not be occupied by Delphine Groux, as requested, but by Dominique Brechoteau.
The work to overhaul the ADBDA in order to implement our proposals and meet the expectations of professional organizations will be carried out between the public authorities and professional organizations.
Finally, we envision that the 2026 edition could be one of historic renewal for the festival: we propose to professionals that the general assembly of the new ADBDA be held in Angoulême during this edition, with time set aside to discuss conditions for welcoming professionals, the fight against sexual violence and harassment, and the future competition for the selection of a new organizer.
We hope that in this new context, artists and their publishers will decide to come in large numbers to participate in the transformation of the festival in 2026.
Signatories:
Étienne Guyot, Prefect of Nouvelle-Aquitaine Region
Jérôme Harnois, Prefect of Département of Charente
Alain Rousset, President of Nouvelle-Aquitaine Region
Jérôme Sourisseau, Président of Département of Charente
Xavier Bonnefont, Mayor of Angoulême and President of Grand Angoulême
Open letter by 285 female comics authors, published on Humanité’s website (November 16)
For several days now, the comic book world has been in turmoil over the crisis shaking the Angoulême festival.
We loved this festival, which is essential for all of us and vital for the comic book industry, but the conditions for visitors and workers have deteriorated over the past 20 years. Historically, we, women and gender minorities, have been made invisible. Over time, we have earned our place and together we intend to make our voices heard. From now on, without us, there will be no albums, no awards, no market, no festival.
On November 8, the official renewal of Frank Bondoux’s 9e Art+ company at the head of the Festival International de la Bande Dessinée (FIBD) organization caused an expected outcry.
In January 2025, Chloé’s story during the previous edition of the Festival fueled an anger that was already difficult to contain. Rather than protecting and helping her, her employer, 9e Art +, fired her for serious misconduct after she filed a complaint for rape against a festival employee. Following her dismissal, she found herself isolated and without income.
We, comic book creators, who had already been mobilized well before this official renewal, launched a Girlcott against the 2026 edition of the festival. Anouk Ricard, winner of the 2025 Grand Prix, was the first author to launch the boycott, following the inter-organizational appeal and petition in April, and to take a strong stance against sexual and sexist violence at the festival.
Chloé is not a unique case. Her story is one of hundreds of others, covered up by silence and omission. This lack of humanity and silence sends a clear and unacceptable message to victims. And we will not tolerate it.
Even though the issue is well known, documented, and denounced, sexist and sexual violence continues in our professions. For a decade, the Collectif des créatrices de BD contre le sexisme (Collective of Women Comic Book Creators Against Sexism) has been raising awareness about these issues, joined in 2022 by MeTooBD. The mistreatment never applies only to women; it induces a general attitude of relationships built on power dynamics.
These facts have been ignored for too long by a festival that focuses more on financial interests and market value than on creativity. But also by a milieu in a patriarchal society where cisgender heterosexual white men enjoy privileges.
We insist that we, women, and with us all gender minorities, are the driving force behind this mobilization. Because we believe that the Angoulême festival still falls short, whether on issues of sexist, sexual, racist, ableist, or LGBTphobic violence.
Humanity no longer has a place in this festival; only profit and international recognition matter. The vertical power structure of 9e Art + and the desire to turn competing authors into stars are violence symptomatic of free-market capitalism. No, we are not silhouettes signing autographs behind sponsored glitter.
We want a reform that aims to rethink this event in order to promote diversity in creation, defend a more ethical treatment of the individuals who participate in it in one way or another, and ensure that comics are considered a cultural asset, accessible to all, and not a purely commercial product. Everything is connected.
This historic Girlcott has shown us that comic book creators can stand together. We want to remind you: do not despise us, do not belittle us, do not exploit us.
We have fought hard to earn our place in this festival, we care deeply about this event, and we are determined. This is a reminder: we are capable of overturning the balance of power.
We demand an event free of violence.
We demand fair and immediate measures, developed with us.
We refuse to be sacrificed in the name of image, profitability, or the myth of vocation.
We are taking action to end systemic violence and sexual violence in the arts.
We welcome the hope of new governance for future editions starting in 2028. We have many ideas, aspirations, and desires for this festival.
And we will not attend the 2026 FIBD organized by 9e Art +.
Chloé, on te croit! / Chloé, we believe you!
