In Angoulême, during the 52nd edition of the festival, on January 31, 2025. ROMAIN PERROCHEAU/AFP
As expected, the 53rd Angoulême International Comics Festival (FIBD) was canceled by its organizer, the company 9e Art +. The 2026 edition, scheduled for January 29 to February 1, "cannot materialize under appropriate conditions," announced, in a statement on Monday, December 1, Vincent Brenot and Ghislain Minaire, the lawyers for the company led by Franck Bondoux.
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Angoulême Comics Festival 'put on hold' by organizer
The decision had seemed inevitable for several weeks following a wave of withdrawals by authors, publishing houses and public funders. In turn, each of the festival's partners called for a boycott of the next edition of the event in western France. The festival has been experiencing an unprecedented crisis for 11 months, during which many dysfunctions were brought to light, including a lack of financial transparency, toxic management and commercialism. These grievances were compounded by the dismissal of an employee who had filed a complaint alleging rape during the 2024 edition of the festival.
