School groups wait to visit exhibitions, on the forecourt of the Comic Book Museum at the Chais Magelis, the southwestern French town of Angoulême, on January 29, 2026. CÉLINE LEVAIN/MIRAGE COLLECTIF FOR LE MONDE
The residents of Angoulême, in southwestern France, have their own way of referring to the event that livens up their city every last weekend of January. They do not call it a "festival," and certainly not the "FIBD" (the French acronym for the International Comic Book Festival), but more simply la bédé, the French slang term for a comic book. From Thursday, January 29, and Sunday, February 1, the nickname dominated local conversations: La bédé had truly taken over the city, yet not through the FIBD's 53rd edition, which was abruptly canceled after the most severe crisis in its history, but instead in the form of a "Grand Off" festival organized by the city's grassroots comics community.
La bédé was also simultaneously celebrated in about 15 cities across France, Spain and Belgium, a group of events dubbed the Interconnected Comic Book Festivals, organized by Girlxcott, a collective of authors and artists belonging to gender minorities authors who led the revolt against 9th Art+, the now-ousted company that used to run the FIBD. The question now is whether there would still be a festival for la bédé in 2027, and if so, in what form.
