French government withdraws funding after claims of toxic management and dismissal of staff member who lodged rape complaint
One of the world’s most prestigious comic book festivals is under threat of cancellation after leading graphic novelists and publishers announced they would boycott the event and the French government withdrew a tranche of its funding.
In the biggest crisis in its illustrious history, the Angoulême festival of la bande dessinée (comic strip) may not take place in 2026 after claims of toxic management and the dismissal of a member of staff who had lodged a rape complaint.
The festival, held annually in the small western French city, hands out some of the global comic industry’s most coveted prizes. In France, bandes dessinées, known as BD, are lauded as the “ninth art” and are popular among adults as well as younger readers.
Announcing she was withdrawing €200,000 (£176,000) of public subsidies for the event until a shake-up in the way it was run, the culture minister, Rachida Dati, said on Tuesday she hoped the 2026 festival would nonetheless go ahead. She had invited those boycotting it to a meeting, she added.
