Original Angoulême Festival owner Association FIBD and its controversial operator 9e Art+ have failed in their legal bid to prevent the new incarnation of the landmark event from happening. The judge has rejected both organisations claims of unfair competition and reputational parasitism, leaving the path open for the new festival – overseen by the Association for the Development of Comics in Angoulême (ADBDA) and its chosen operator, the Morgane Group – to establish a new international comics festival to replace it. The first edition of the new festival is still slated to take place late January 2027.
According to local newspaper Charente Libre, the Angoulême court rejected all claims made by Association FIBD and 9e Art+, including the demand to pay €300,000 damages incurred by the implosion of this year’s event in November 2025. A complaint announced by Franck Bondoux, owner of 9e Art+, in January – both his company and Association FIBD sought to also annul the ADBDA’s open call process to find a new festival operator, which yielded the Morgane Group on a 5-year contract. That has likewise failed. Both Association FIBD and 9e Art+ will each have to pay back the legal costs of €4,000 apiece to the ADBDA and €3,000 apiece to the Morgane Group – a total of €14,000 (~$15,600).
The question now is what will happen next – the Association FIBD (comprised of a mix of the original festival founders’ heirs and volunteers) has been left adrift, having officially lost its monopoly on holding comics events in the town, only retaining the copyrights – including the name Festival international de la bande dessinée d’Angoulême [tr. Angoulême International Comics Festival], aka Angoulême FIBD. Although yet to be formally announced, the new festival will not use the FIBD name and will instead establish a new one with its own copyrights to draw a clean break with the regime that completely broke faith with the entire French comics industry and its public funders in 2025. Meanwhile 9e Art+ has already entered bankruptcy and is still facing a case of unfair dismissal by former employee Elise Bouché-Tran, who was allegedly fired after reporting her own sexual assault. The case was heard by the Charente Labour Court on September 28 with the verdict yet to be declared.
As for the “New Festival”, preparations have been underway throughout 2026 to make the traditional slot of late January 2027. Since bodies representing authors and publishers are members of the ADBDA it is our understanding that table and hotel bookings were made months ago, with a number of exhibitions already being prepped. While the 2027 festival will not be of exactly the same scale as its prior incarnation – having had under a year to put it together – subsequent years will build outwards. Now that the legal battle is over, expect word from the ADBDA and press conferences in the coming days and weeks.
The original Angoulême International Comics Festival was established in 1974 and has since become one of the largest events of its kind in the world – attracting some 200,000 visitors to the small town in Southwest France. Widely respected, the festival has enjoyed regular national press coverage with it being considered the comics equivalent of the Cannes Film Festival. Over the past decade the festival had become increasingly embattled and subject to controversy, much of which was laid at the feet of event organiser 9e Art+. In early 2025 an exposé in Humanité magazine revealed patterns of mismanagement and the alleged dismissal of an employee after reporting their own sexual assault, causing widespread protest and condemnation. 9e Art+’s operating contract was up for renewal and pressure was mounted on owner Association FIBD to stage an open call process – one which yielded the reinstatement of 9e Art+’s contract for upwards of another decade. In response, authors across the Franco-Belgian comics industry, and beyond, announced a boycott of the 2026 event, followed by their publishers and then the withdrawal of public funders who covered half the festival’s budget. The January 2026 event was cancelled, the Association FIBD went dark, and the mediation body ADBDA filled the vacuum – expanding its membership and remit, beginning the process to keep the spirit of the festival alive.
