Right-wing mogul ignites culture war in French cinema

But French filmmakers are not ready to cut ties with controversial Vincent Bolloré.

By GIORGIO LEALIin PARIS

There’s a tradition at the Cannes film festival: when the lights go down, the audience claps and cheers when the logos of their favorite producers and distributors appear.

This year, there was a twist. Almost every time the logo of Canal+, the company owned by right-wing tycoon Vincent Bolloré, appeared on screen, the audience booed.

It was a sign that France’s bitter culture war over the hard right’s politics had reached the heart of the country’s TV and movie business.