400 fewer French films? 170 cinema personalities alert

Jacques Audiard, Justine Triet, Costa-Gavras… More than 170 cinema personalities signed an article in Le Monde denouncing the consequences of the finance bill for 2027.

French cinema is sounding the alarm.

In a column published on October 14 in The Worldmore than 170 directors and producers denounce the threats that the finance bill for 2027 poses to the financing of French production. Among the signatories are Jacques Audiard, but also Justine Triet, Costa-Gavras, Claire Denis, Michel Hazanavicius, Agnès Jaoui, Julia Ducournau and the Dardenne brothers.

Their concerns are on several fronts. The France Télévisions budget must decrease by 47 million euros in 2027, while an amendment defended by the general budget rapporteur, Philippe Juvin, provides for a levy of 35 million euros from the resources of the National Cinema Center (CNC). Added to this is the plan to double VAT on Canal+ pay television subscriptions, increasing it from 10% to 20%.

It is this last measure which could have the most serious consequences. An inter-professional agreement signed at the end of July provides that any increase in VAT for Canal+ would render certain of its investment obligations in cinema obsolete. According to the signatories, breaking this agreement would result in a loss of 750 million euros for creation between 2028 and 2032.

“Very concretely, over a period of five years, 400 films will not exist”they warn. That’s 80 productions per year.

The filmmakers point out that the sector represents 260,000 direct and indirect jobs and is based on a financing system fueled in particular by contributions from broadcasters and taxes allocated to the CNC. They also point out that French films represent 40% of theatrical admissions in France, compared to 17% for German films in Germany.

Beyond budgetary arbitrations, the signatories are calling for a real cinema law to perpetuate the media chronology, regulate artificial intelligence and preserve the resources of the CNC and public broadcasting. They call on MPs to support the amendments in favor of creation and to maintain VAT at 10% for Canal+, in return for commitments in favor of cinema. The 2027 budget is still under discussion: the 400 films threatened therefore relate, at this stage, to a disaster scenario feared by professionals, not yet a reality.