Canal to stop working with 600 petition signatories at Cannes

The head of France's largest film producer, Canal, has announced the company will cease working with over 600 cinema professionals who signed a petition criticizing the influence of its billionaire owner, Vincent Bolloré. The declaration was made by Canal CEO Maxime Saada at an event during the Cannes Film Festival on Sunday.

Saada stated that he viewed the petition as an injustice toward Canal's teams, who he said are committed to defending the company's independence and diversity of choices. He added that he personally would no longer work with the signatories and did not want Canal to do so either.

The open letter, published earlier this month, was signed by prominent figures including actress and director Juliette Binoche and director Arthur Harari, whose film "The Unknown" is premiering in Cannes' main competition. The signatories expressed alarm over Canal's recent acquisition of a stake in the French cinema chain UGC, arguing it would allow Bolloré to control the entire film production chain from financing to distribution. They described Bolloré as pursuing a reactionary agenda through his media holdings, which include the news channel CNews and the publishing group Louis...