In the latest update: We may know what the Angoulême 2026 Official Selection could have looked like (and what familiar names made the cut); the Association FIBD responds to mayor Xavier Bonnefont‘s accusations; the ADBDA moves forward; the Inter-Org BD coalition gives an update; no more Fauve; meetings taking place to decide on a program for the vacant FIBD weekend; and Le Figaro interviews mayor Bonnefont.
(Un-)Official Selection
French magazine Nouvel Obs managed to bag quite an exclusive – a leaked copy of what would likely have been the Official Selection of top books in the running for the festival’s many prizes. While the list isn’t complete – the Heritage Selection of reprints wasn’t included – it does give many publishers and authors something to latch on to, post-cancellation.
There is a caveat though: a number of publishers and authors had made their decision to boycott early, and that included submitting work for the awards. Nouvel Obs notes two publishers known to have done this: L’Association (famous for debuting Marjane Satrapi’s classic Persepolis) and Éditions Çà et Là. Their authors were allowed to submit their works independently.
Going through the lists, a few known names released in French this past year would have made the resulting (45 book) main Official Selection:
- Tom Gauld’s Physics for Cats (from Éditions 2042 as La Physique pour les chats) — Drawn & Quarterly, 2025
- Paul B. Rainey’s Why Don’t You Love Me? (from Atrabile) — Drawn & Quarterly, 2023
- Jon McNaught‘s Hors scène (tr. “Offstage”, from Dargaud) — not released in English
- Norm Konyu’s Downlands (from Glénat) — Titan Books, 2025
- Tom King & Bilquis Evely’s Helen of Wyndhorn (from Glénat as Helen de Wyndhorn) — Dark Horse, 2025
- James Sturm & Joe Sutphin’s adaptation of Richard Adams’ Watership Down (from Monsieur Toussaint Louverture) — Ten Speed Graphic, 2023
Also: mangaka Taiyo Matsumoto’s concluding instalment of Tokyo These Days (Tokyo, ces jours-ci, Kana) – published in English by Viz in 2024 – had also made the list.
In the nine-nominee “Series” category, Brian K. Vaughan & Fiona Staples’ Saga and Rick Remender & Max Fiumara’s Sacrificers (‘Sacrifice’ in French). Both Image Comics titles were published by Urban Comics in France. Cool to see. However, if the competition had gone ahead these two ongoing series’ would almost certainly not make the final cut – especially since the conclusion of a critical and commercial juggernaut French series was in the running: Madeleine, Résistante by Jean-David Morvan & Dominique Bertail (Dupuis).
In the seven-title “Polar” (crime/suspense) category, the French edition of Bryan Talbot’s Grandville prequel The Casebook of Stamford Hawksmore (from Delirium) was in the running. Talbot has had immense success the past few years in the French market with Grandville proving quite popular. Stamford Hawksmore was released in the UK with Talbot’s regular British publisher Jonathan Cape in November. No date on a US edition has been set but Dark Horse has covered the majority of Talbot’s work stateside, so sooner or later.
No Anglo-American titles made it to the seven-book Eco-Fauve (ecological themed) category, and none in the 18-book kids category.
Angoulême’s Official Selection is picked from over 700 submissions by a jury comprised of an author, a bookseller, a journalist, an academic, and one of the festival artistic directors (which would have been from 9e Art+).
These awards are nothing to sniff at in France. Angoulême’s prizes are considered the highest award in international comics, and within France a win in categories like Fauve d’Or (Best Book) will give a book’s sales a shot of adrenaline. Martin Panchaud’s From Above went from around 15,000 copies sold to now over 71,000 after winning the prize in 2023 (it was released in English this year by Abrams ComicArts).
[If anyone wants the laborious rundown of the full ‘unOfficial Selection’ as per previous years — 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022 — let us know]
Association FIBD Barks Back
Friday evening the non-profit owners of the Angoulême Festival, the Association FIBD, released on social media a 1,576 word retort to Xavier Bonnefont, mayor of Angoulême.
As we reported last week, Bonnefont had placed the blame for the current situation entirely at the feet of the Association FIBD and its president Delphine Groux at a municipal council meeting on December 3. The cancellation of the International Comics Festival (FIBD) is simultaneously a massive political blow, a heavily publicised embarrassment for the town (covered by the national press), and constitutes a major economic shock to local businesses. With municipal elections happening in March, the crisis could signal the end of Bonnefont’s 12-year mayoralty – and maybe even his political career.
The letter was written and signed by Association FIBD administrator Jacques Bernat and co-signed by seven others from the members committee. President Delphine Groux was conspicuously absent as a signatory. It is a rather lengthy screed but you can check out the full DeepL-assisted translation further down.
Some interesting points:
- It mentions the authors protests in vague terms: “Since January 2025, the Association has not been inactive and has, of course, been aware of the protests by authors.”
- It briefly mentions some measures allegedly put in place concerning sexual violence and harassment but adds “we regretted that they were not sufficiently visible”.
- There is no mention of the widespread, ongoing frustrations the industry has toward operator 9e Art+, who the Association has contracted the running of the festival to since 2007. It later on mentions 9e Art+ owner Franck Bondoux as a scapegoat.
As for the widely criticised process whose results in November led to an explosion of boycotts/girlcotts that brought down the festival, it makes a few claims:
- In October, the five candidates applications for the new operating contract (set to start in 2028) were inspected by six members of the Association’s board of directors with “50 eligibility criteria” that were a combination of “technical and ethical criteria, based on a detailed checklist to be completed for each application”. None of the criteria are stated and these checklists are, according to Mr Bernat “subject to the strictest confidentiality”. No criteria stated, no completed checklists as evidence.
- The letter also claimed the Association’s board of directors (all volunteers) worked sixteen hours on October 20 (from 9am to 1am), then a further six on October 21 (6pm-midnight) to come to the controversial decision of pushing for a joint project between two organisations with an adversarial relationship, 9e Art+ and Cité de la BD. Thus keeping 9e Art+.
- There were allegedly three resignations from the Association FIBD board of directors during this process who disagreed with the final two choices.
In terms of reaction to the letter, there appears to be none except a few critical comments to the social media post.
ADBDA – Discussions, Possible Plans, and Expansion
A source in the Association for the Development of Comics in Angoulême (ADBDA) has told us that Association FIBD representatives have been absent from the body’s meetings since the onset of the crisis. The ADBDA, a group comprising festival stakeholders including publishers, authors, sponsors and public financial partners, has already begun actively moving forward to the future shape of the festival. Discussions have already begun regarding the process of seeking a new operator. The full revival of the festival will take place by 2028 at the latest.
As for 2027, there will definitely be an event but nothing firm yet. It is possible that publicly-funded body Cité de la BD, which runs the town’s comics museum and other venues, could step in as an operational nucleus for that year’s event if the newly selected showrunner needs more time to prepare.
Everything is still in the proposal and discussion stage, for now, and could be subject to change.
The more immediate procedure for the ADBDA in the coming weeks will be formalising the expansion of its membership to include the multiple author unions and interest groups (cumulatively referred to as the Inter-Org BD) who led the way for the end of the 9e Art+ dominated status quo with the petition, boycotts and girlcotts.
An Inter-Org BD Press Release
On December 9, the Inter-Org BD coalition of author unions and anti-sexism and -sexual violence groups delivered its first message since November 8 (the date in which 9e Art+ was retained as festival operator).
The message issues congratulations and thanks for everyone who joined in the 2,000+ signature petition and authors who immediately mobilised in the total boycott/girlcott movements from November 8. It also particularly paid tribute to the Girlcott Manifesto signatories comprising 285 professional female authors from across the industry.
“Thanks to everyone’s mobilization—which began with the signing of the Let’s Desert the FIBD petition—authors banded together within their unions and achieved the impossible: forcing public authorities to pressure the festival association and 9ᵉArt+ to overhaul the event.
“As we wrote earlier this year: without us, there would be no festival!
“It is thanks to our mobilization, and particularly that of the 285 authors of the Girlcott Manifesto, that the publishing houses and then the public authorities took note of our determination. Now, the balance of power is on our side.”
It then updates members on what happens next, confirming much of what we have heard regarding the activity of the ADBDA. It also mentions March as the beginning of the process of finding the future showrunner. Presumbaly this would take place immediately after the municipal elections to avoid politicising (and rushing) decisionmaking.
“…The ADBDA will now be at the heart of the event’s renewal.
“Two projects have been launched as a matter of urgency: refounding the ADBDA, which will include representatives from public authorities, publishers’ unions, and us, authors’ unions. The second project is drafting a call for applications that respects the demands of the Inter-Org BD coalition.
“This call for tenders for future editions is expected to be launched in March next year to find a new operator for the festival.”
Fauve, No More?
One thing to expect in the revival of the festival – Fauve the cat may not return. The copyright of the mascot designed by Lewis Trondheim could be controlled by 9e Art+, who may not want to relinquish it (and may be itching for an excuse to mount a legal dispute). The festival did have a mascot prior to 9e Art+ so a new one isn’t sacrilegious. But who will design it? Perhaps Anouk Ricard – 2025 Grand Prix recipient and a public face for the boycott movement – might be interested? The festival’s awards – the Fauves – would obviously need a name change too.
Also, will the future operator still be allowed to use “Festival International de la Bande Dessinée”/FIBD if the Association FIBD refuses to come to the table? Admittedly the bigger issue will probably be sidestepping any potential lawfare by 9e Art+.
As long the festival can come back embraced by the industry and the public, names and logos should be an afterthought, we’ve been told.
Events for Vacant FIBD Weekend Being Prepared
Meetings have taken place at the town hall between authors, booksellers, shopkeepers and other applicants to define a unified smaller scale comics event within the town for the end of January (when FIBD would have taken place). A third such meeting took place on December 3, according to local daily Charente Libre.
Around forty participants are expected with around twenty already known to have made proposals and presentations. Large publishers are unlikely to consider signing up but some smaller independents, particularly those more local, can’t be ruled out.
The paper said,
“During the meeting, part of the event was presented and discussed…According to our information, around twenty collectives, bookshops, and authors have already submitted their proposals. For the moment, the event is scheduled to take place over three or four days on the usual dates [January 29 to February 1, 2026]. Proposals can be submitted until December 12. Grant applications will be reviewed on December 19 and voted on January 14 at the next city council meeting.”
Elected officials have avoided involvement in the wake of 9e Art+’s recent legal complaint that also made the cancellation of the 2026 Festival official. The event is being art-directed by a committee comprised of authors, booksellers, and members of the Cité de la BD’s comics museum, with the event management shared between local association Cap BD and a third party, Arcanes Events, based outside Angoulême but within the region.
Le Figaro interviews Mayor Bonnefont
Angoulême’s mayor was interviewed by French national newspaper Le Figaro. In an article published December 10, Bonnefont tried to give a positive spin on the cancellation of the festival (“Both a shock and a genuine moment of hope”) and emphasised the proactive measures taken after things escalated November 8 (skipping the course of events stretching back to at least January 2025):
“By announcing on November 8 that [the Association FIBD] was renewing its contract with 9eArt+, the festival association presented everyone with a fait accompli. It ultimately prevented itself from organizing the 2026 festival. Faced with this situation, the city was confronted with a choice. Either we buried our heads in the sand and let the association and 9e Art+ get bogged down in a disastrous situation at the end of January, or we turned this situation into an opportunity to rebuild a festival in line with everyone’s expectations.”
The most interesting part of the interview came when the newspaper asked Bonnefont about what was being planned for late January in lieu of there being an FIBD – seemingly giving the impression that everything is already being well managed and prepared despite it only being a week since the festival was officially cancelled:
“I am pleased to announce that we are organizing a unique and creative event, which will take place over three days with free admission at the end of January in Angoulême. I invite all of France, all comic book enthusiasts, to support our community of local authors, their profession, and their artform. For now, we are thinking of calling the event “La BD dans tous ses états” [tr. ‘Comic Books in All Their Forms’]. It will be a one-off event rather than a festival, for reasons you can imagine. There will be discussions led by journalists and book signings. The four independent bookshops are also involved.”
He added:
“Initially, the initiative was local, but it quickly took on a national dimension. Between the various initiatives, several hundred authors will be present in Angoulême at the end of January. Exhibitions are also being planned, coordinated by the Cité de la BD, which we have commissioned to handle the artistic side. The city is taking care of the technical aspects. The event also plans to maintain an off-festival [Future Off], an initiative around Christian comics, the presence of schoolchildren, and the presentation of the Prix BD Hippocampe, which honors an author with a disability. All this positive energy is likely to surprise many.”
It sounds a bit too good to be true but we shall see how the actual thing turns out in the coming months.
Bonnefont was also asked about the timeline for the renewal of the FIBD, giving a slightly different schedule than implied by the ADBDA and Inter-Org BD. Bonnefont claims that from January to March, the ADBDA will be engaging in the process of finding a new operator for the festival, with the successful candidate in place by the beginning of April (the ADBDA and Inter-Org BD indicated March would be the beginning of the process, rather than the end):
Bonnefont said:
“The statutes of [the ADBDA] will be redefined in early January to oversee a transparent call for projects aimed at selecting the festival’s next governance structure. The results will be announced in April.”
When asked what he believed the reasons underlying the crisis, Bonnefont gave a curious response – suggesting that it was merely a communications issue, whereby 9e Art+ and the Association FIBD ignored authors and publishers. He also suggested 9e Art+ was financially responsible (despite reports of financial irregularities):
“This company [9e Art+] has managed the financial side of things in an acceptable manner. The accounts have rarely been in deficit. This provided security for the city. However, it is unthinkable that an association and its operator could organize a festival without consulting the authors and the profession.”
And yes, Le Figaro did ask Bonnefont about the Association’s message from December 5. His response: “The dog barks, but the caravan moves on. As for me, I’ve already moved on to other concerns.”
As ever…. À suivre
Inter-Org BD newsletter update, December 9
Let’s desert the FIBD #4 : There will be no 2026 edition of the Angoulême International Comics Festival!
Thanks to everyone’s mobilization—which began with the signing of the Let’s Desert the FIBD petition—authors banded together within their unions and achieved the impossible: forcing public authorities to pressure the festival association and 9ᵉArt+ to overhaul the event.
As we wrote earlier this year: without us, there would be no festival!
It is thanks to our mobilization, and particularly that of the 285 authors of the Girlcott Manifesto, that the publishing houses and then the public authorities took note of our determination. Now, the balance of power is on our side.
Of course, it’s not over yet. A letter from 9ᵉArt+’s lawyers threatens public officials with legal action, while Delphine Groux remains in her position as president of the festival association. The cumbersome shadow of these usurpers will continue to hang over the festival for some time to come. But not for much longer.
Public actors, and first and foremost the Angoulême council, seem to have understood that the same mistakes must not be repeated. The ADBDA will now be at the heart of the event’s renewal.
Two projects have been launched as a matter of urgency: refounding the ADBDA, which will include representatives from public authorities, publishers’ unions, and us, authors’ unions. The second project is drafting a call for applications that respects the demands of the Inter-Org BD coalition.
This call for tenders for future editions is expected to be launched in March next year to find a new operator for the festival.
And what about 2026?
At a time when culture budgets are always the first to be slashed by public authorities, the cancellation of the 2026 festival has provoked a multitude of indignant and fearful reactions concerning the economic fabric of Angoulême. We feel it is important to emphasize that yes, culture is also what brings a region to life. But the public authorities should have recognized this earlier. Angoulême’s cultural ecosystem is reorganizing itself for January, and a number of initiatives (such as Future Off) will be launched to continue celebrating comics without Delphine Groux and Franck Bondoux.
In addition, other events throughout France will accompany this celebration of comic books. Stay tuned to your favorite authors and bookstores for announcements coming soon.
And tomorrow, what about income security?
Thursday, December 18 will be an important milestone for our rights. Bill No. 107, which aims to establish continuity of income for artists and authors, will be examined by the Senate after being discussed by the Social Affairs Committee on Wednesday, December 10.
We need to mobilize!
Now more than ever, we invite you to join a union (there are several to choose from within the Inter-Org BD). Our future as cultural workers can only be defended with combative collectives, as proven by this victory for the overhaul of the FIBD. Together, we can turn any situation around.
This new right to unemployment insurance for artists and authors is within reach; it is up to us to seize it.
Association FIBD administrator Jacques Bernat’s letter to mayor Xavier Bonnefont, re-published evening December 5 on social media
Mr. Mayor, you are lying, and by lying, you are setting my words free!
When I joined the board of directors of the Association FIBD in 2017, my goal was to maintain a major comic book festival in the city, a festival that was independent of political and commercial powers but worked in collaboration with public authorities and comics professionals, authors, and publishers. Indeed, as you repeatedly stated yesterday at the municipal council meeting, the FIBD is no longer independent.
I will recount the chronology of events that you hold so dearly.
Since January 2025, the Association has not been inactive and has, of course, been aware of the protests by authors. In early February, a commission was mandated to verify with the service provider the measures implemented against VHSS [gender violence & sexual harassment] and ensure their implementation. They were in compliance with the law, but we regretted that they were not sufficiently visible (referents, security, training, etc.).
As you have been regularly informed, since January 2025, the Association has deemed the current operating agreement could not be renewed as is. Its duration needed to be reevaluated (between 6 to 10 years) and it was planned to be backed by a supervisory board. We ensured this with the help of our advisors. This project was rejected and a witch hunt began! Violent and irrational! The head of the general delegate had to roll!
That is why, despite its popularity and media success, despite its steady and confirmed development year on year towards alternative and international cultures (manga, Anglo-comics) through world-class exhibitions and master classes by authors from around the world that are hugely popular with the public, it has decided, as required by the terms of the agreement, to terminate its contract with the organizing company 9e Art+ with two years’ notice and to invite bids for the organization of the Festival from 2028 onwards.
The specifications were written on the basis of the CPO (public procurement contract) between the organizing company and the public funders, with a few points gleaned from professionals, who had never specifically expressed their wishes. It was sent to the ADBDA and, of course, to the applicants.
The selection criteria, around 150 in total, were simply a transcription of the various points in the specifications. This has been said and repeated, and there is no opacity in this, despite the endless assertions to the contrary.
A qualified person was proposed, Mr. David Cameo, president of the ADBDA, but he was rejected by the ADBDA itself for reasons unknown to me. The candidates proposed by you, journalists, were not available, it seems. We found ourselves without anyone qualified. This was not our doing.
On October 17, five applications were received at the Association’s headquarters. The 14 members of the Board of Directors’ membership committee (seven active and seven retired members of all ages, backgrounds, and genders) worked individually on the five applications and their appendices on October 18 and 19.
On October 20, six members of the board of directors who were available and willing to volunteer worked from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on “50 eligibility criteria.” These were technical and ethical criteria, based on a detailed checklist to be completed for each application. These rigorously completed checklists are subject to the strictest confidentiality. At 6 p.m., the Board of Directors met until 1 a.m. to validate this initial assessment. A new working session was held on October 21 from 6 p.m. to midnight.
Two applications were selected for interview by a majority of the participants. The selected candidates were informed and interviews were scheduled for October 31.
Not necessarily agreeing with the majority of those present (78% of the members), two members expressed their desire not to participate in the rest of the selection process. They therefore resigned. A third member made the same decision later.
A new collective work evening was held to prepare for these hearings.
After the hearings and after reviewing the files, it was proposed to the finalists that a new entity be created, combining the present event organizer and the permanent structure of the town’s comic book community. This seemed to us to be a desirable and effective option in the long term. There was never any question of the new structure being operational within 15 days, as has been written, but rather of the various stakeholders committing to the principle. There were then two years left before the 2028 edition of the festival to prepare the best possible organization. This made it possible to preserve the skills already acquired and to bring a new breath of fresh air by bringing together structures, authors, and publishers.
This project, initially accepted by the local authorities, was rejected by the Cité de la BD, provoking an outcry from authors and publishers on the theme of “Bondoux is back,” which was completely untrue. The cabal shifted its focus to the Association and, above all, its president.
Faced with this unprecedented backlash, the Association decided to cancel the competitive bidding process and issue a new call for tenders, this time led by the ADBDA, in which it would become a minority partner, again in the best interests of the event. This sparked further protests, boycotts, and girlcotts, with the president being called “dog meat” [‘viande à chien’] and receiving threats.
Panic spread throughout the profession and among public authorities.
On November 14, the Association’s president was received by the ADBDA’s financiers along with three other members of the membership committee. The discussions were sincere and respectful. The Association was offered the opportunity to rejoin the ADBDA. The Association FIBD reserved its response until the following day, as it needed to consult with the rest of the members of the membership committee, while insisting on the need to retain the staff of 9e Art+. The mayor made a commitment to this. In view of the general consensus, I sincerely believed in this project.
On November 15, in the best interests of the event, the Association responded favorably to the requests of the public funders, agreeing to join the ADBDA. It also proposed that Dominique Bréchoteau and I represent it during the work on the new call for projects. The outcry on social media only grew louder. The public authorities, meeting with the various professional unions and authors’ movements, were unable to appease the demands of either side.
On November 18, the SNAC-BD published its demands.
On November 21, public funders announced the withdrawal of subsidies at a press conference.
On November 28, the Association’s board of directors met in the presence of our advisors (lawyer and accountant) and Martine Pinville, elected representative of Nouvelle Aquitaine, from the DRAC, Maylis Descazeaux, and technical representatives of the mayor and the departmental council. The consensus was to relaunch the FIBD in 2027 through the ADBDA, including two representatives from the Association.
On December 2, the lawyers of 9e Art+ announced in a press release that “the 2026 edition of the Festival will not be able to take place under appropriate conditions.”
From then on, a large mobilization of local actors took place.
On December 4, the Association served as a scapegoat for the mayor, who accused it of opacity, even though he had been kept informed, either directly or through his advisor Gérard Desaphy, of the successive decisions taken by the members’ committee. I note that, in this diatribe against the Association and its president, you never mention 9e Art+.
You mention:
“Warnings”: which ones and when?
“Sabotage of the call for projects”: what does this refer to? The three applications that were rejected were rejected after thorough review.
“Trampled on the selection process that she herself launched”: Please be more specific!
“Refusal of the qualified person”: see above, but you know that it was the ADBDA that refused them.
“A sham jury in 1 hour and 40 minutes”: that’s an insult! The description above proves it.
“Selection criteria”: they correspond to the items in the specifications drawn up on the basis of the CPO, as already stated! I personally completed and filled in the summary tables.
“A letter from a member who has stepped down”: as in any organization or municipal council, there can be disagreements. Resignation can be a way of expressing this, as four of your deputies have done since the beginning of your current term of office, which is less than six years.
“Opacity as a religion”: you mean that opacity is to avoid creating conflicts of interest by choosing discretion and confidentiality (unfortunately without much success), especially in a pre-election period. But Mr. Mayor, you have just freed us from this principle of confidentiality, and the time has come to speak out and make our truth known.
I would like to point out that the members of the Association and the entire college of members, including the president, are all volunteers and have not received any compensation during their term of office, either in cash or in the form of tax relief! Well, maybe one or two beers and two or three snack platters! The Association itself does not receive any public funds.
I have acted with complete independence and loyalty towards the festival and the city and, even if I risk falling on deaf ears, towards the authors whose works and creative efforts I admire and support.
Signed by Jacques Bernat, (Administrator, FIBD Association)
Supporting signatures (“My fellow volunteers on the members’ committee also wish to sign this letter, which I have shared with them”): Josette Biscuit, Danièle Bonnin, Dominique Bréchoteau, Didier Bruimaud, Fabienne Cejudo, François Penelle, Philippe Tomblaine
