Embattled Angoulême Festival organiser 9e Art+ has officially put production of the 2026 event on indefinite hold. The news was broken this afternoon (French local time) in an email circulated to publishers. While not an official cancellation, it is a further sign that the event – scheduled for January 29 to February 1, 2026 – will not go ahead.
In the email, which was shared to French news outlets, 9e Art+ sales director Noémie de La Soujeole said [translated via DeepL]:
“Hello. We would like to inform you that production of the 2026 edition of the Angoulême Festival has been suspended for the time being. We will be in touch with you very soon to provide further details. Thank you for your understanding. Best regards.”
The timing of the email coincides with the last day in which publishers can cancel their booths and expect their money back. Publishers can cancel no later than 70 days prior to doors open.
It has been almost exactly a week since the November 20 press conference held by public financial partners comprising local, national, regional and departmental bodies. Their representatives were led by Angoulême mayor Xavier Bonnefont, who said funding for the 2026 edition would cease and recommended the show not go ahead. Public bodies provide almost half of the show’s budget. On November 19, 9e Art+ had sent their last communique: a press release that the show was still going ahead as planned, and that they were in active discussions with stakeholders. Clearly those discussions have not gone well, if they occurred at all.
So far there has been no news from 9e Art+ owner Franck Bondoux, who has largely laid low as the situation worsened, and the same can be said for Festival owner Association FIBD’s president Delphine Groux. Public authorities are said to have sent Bondoux a letter on November 24 demanding he deliver a comprehensive plan for what he intends to do during the scheduled festival period (January 29 to February 1) or risk facing difficulties getting permits. He has until December 1 to respond.
This is the latest turn in the ongoing crisis that has engulfed one of the world’s largest dedicated comics events. While tensions had been running under the surface for over a decade, they exploded following a January exposé by Humanité of controversial organiser 9e Art+ reported employee burnout, financial irregularities, overcommercialisation, and an employee fired after reporting her own rape at the 2024 edition of the show. The situation dramatically worsened on November 8 after a heavily criticised process of selecting an alternative show organiser by festival owner Association FIBD yielded the retention of 9e Art+ until 2036. Massive author boycotts and publisher withdrawals had put the entire future of the festival in doubt with the 2026 edition almost entirely written off by observers.
Usually the Angoulême Festival would be ramping up its promotion for the upcoming show, with a major press conference taking place before the end of November showcasing the full programme of exhibitions, official posters, and the official selection of 80+ books in line for some of the highest awards in international comics. The sudden radio silence over the last two weeks had been an ominous sign – with news of two planned exhibitions being cancelled by request of authors David Prudhomme and Matthieu Bablet. Some of the exhibitions had been announced already – a Kazuo Umezz retrospective, Hitoshi Awaki’s Parasite, Émilie Tronche, and more. 2025 Grand Prix winner Anouk Ricard‘s honorary retrospective exhibition already had a spanner in the works because the author reaffirmed her intention to boycott the 2026 event, including refusing to participate in the exhibition’s production. With international exhibitions usually arranged far (years) in advance, it is unclear if the Umezz or Parasite exhibitions will ever see the light of day.
Also today, former employee Élise Bouché-Tran, who had waived her anonymity last Friday, finally had her day in judicial court for her alleged 2024 rape. The trial is currently ongoing, and Élise also has a court date with the employment tribunal for her dismissal following reporting the incident by then-employer Franck Bondoux of 9e Art+. She was met outside the Angoulême courthouse by a crowd of fifty supporters, many carrying placards saying “Élise on te croit” [tr. “Élise, we believe you”]
A member of the group of supporters speaking to Charente Libré said:
“This isn’t the first time there have been issues with violence and sexual harassment at the Angoulême Festival.”
[Note: this article is being updated as new information becomes available.]
