Embattled Angoulême Festival organiser 9e Art+ has officially put production of the 2026 event on indefinite hold. The news broke this afternoon (French local time) through 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.”
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.
The French Culture Minister, Rachida Dati, attempted to intervene in the hopes of making 2026 happen. After creating some confusion in the French National Assembly last week – ten days into the crisis – with an ill-prepared statement implying the government would reduce its funding by 60% (later clarrified by Dati via her ministry); Dati ended the week by offering 9e Art+ the restoration of a special €200,000 subsidy (not provided to this year’s festival) if the company met certain conditions or made some desired changes. However, realistically, it is hard to imagine anything that could possibly be done when practically the entire industry engaged in a full boycott over a week prior, demanding the company’s complete removal.
On November 19, 9e Art+ had sent their previous communique: a press release claiming 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 somewhat be said for Festival-owner Association FIBD’s president Delphine Groux.
It was also revealed today that city, regional, and departmental officials had sent Bondoux a strongly-worded 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) in light of “the very low turnout of authors”, “the resulting position of publishers” and “the cancellation of exhibitions, either confirmed or under discussion”. He has until December 1 to respond or risk facing difficulties getting permits, ordinances, and subsidies in time for an event, if one could realistically take place. A further embarassment for Bondoux that has been recounted throughout the French national press.
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+. It revealed a toxic workplace culture, burnout, financial irregularities, overcommercialisation, and an employee fired after reporting her own sexual assault during the 2024 edition of the show. The situation dramatically worsened on November 8 after a heavily criticised process of selecting an alternative show organiser, conducted 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, 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. While some of the exhibitions had been announced already (a Kazuo Umezz retrospective, Hitoshi Awaki’s Parasite, Émilie Tronche, and more), two planned exhibitions had been cancelled by request of the authors, namely David Prudhomme and Matthieu Bablet. 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 sexual assault. 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.”
November 24 letter sent from public partners to Franck Bondoux (General Delegate of the Angoulême Festival). A copy was also sent to Delphine Groux, President of the Association FIBD :
Mr. General Delegate,
Following the meeting between your management team and Mr. Gérard Desaphy [creative city and French cultural advisor] on November 19, the festival teams provided us with an update on the festival’s progress.
They provided an update on:
– The very low turnout of authors
– The resulting position of publishers
– The cancellation of exhibitions, either confirmed or under discussion.
In light of these factors, we would like to receive urgent and precise information on your ability to hold all or part of the Angoulême International Comics Festival.
We would appreciate your prompt and comprehensive response regarding what you would be able to offer from January 29 to February 1, 2026.
If we do not receive a response by December 1, 2025, the public partners will find themselves in difficulty in implementing all the ordinances, subsidy decisions, permits for the occupation of public property, and the use of public facilities.
We look forward to hearing from you.
Signataries:
Xavier Bonnefont (Mayor of Angoulême)
Alain Rousset (President of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Regional Council)
Jérôme Sourisseau (President of the Department)
Jérôme Harnois (Prefect of the Department)
