On Nov. 19, the French daily newspaper Libération was the first to announce what seems to be inevitable: the 53rd edition of France’s largest comic event, the Festival de la bande dessinée d'Angoulême (FIBD), will not take place. The festival’s withdrawal stems from a general mobilization of comic book authors, first relayed in an op-ed published in the left-wing newspaper l'Humanité on April 17 and signed by over 2,500 authors.
A turmoil of negotiations followed, culminating on Nov. 10 with an open letter signed by 20 winners of the Angoulême Grand Prix, the Festival’s most prestigious award — past winners include Art Spiegelman, Chris Ware and Julie Doucet — calling for a profound change in the festival’s management. A "girlcott" (a feminist linguistic distortion of the word boycott) then arose, with a manifesto translated below, and signed by 285 female and gender minority authors. All these comic book authors took a strong stand against the management of a festival stranded by complaints of nepotism, abuse and sexism.
Some context
The Angoulême Festival, founded in 1974, has only been canceled once in its lifespan, in the midst of the recent COVID-19 crisis. Since the beginning, it has been managed by the festival's founding association, and to a larger extent a private company. Since the early 2000s, this private company has been 9eArt+, whose chairman, Franck Bondoux, is primarily responsible for organizing the festival, and has had his fair share of controversies over the years (secret and opaque financing, frequent cases of burnout and exhaustion within the company, controversial partnerships, and toxic management that favors lucrative financiers over employees).
In the middle of the last festival in January, journalist Lucie Servin shook the French comic world by investigating the festival's management. In an article written for L’Humanité, she described how 9e art + had entered into absurd mercantile partnerships, most notably with Quick, a fast food chain that, needless to say, has very little to do with comic art, and whose contract amount and duration remain secret.
While ticket prices rose dramatically (from 2024 to 2025, there was a 25% increase in ticket prices at the box office, with a 4-day pass costing €60), the festival showed a deficit of €250,000 for the first time. Meanwhile, 9e Art +’s accounting, through which all the festival's funds pass, indicates a significant increase in the budget, from €4.7 million in 2019 to €6.5 million in 2023. It's a jump linked to “a wide range of factors, including developments inherent to an event of this scale, in addition to the post-COVID repercussions, inflation, rising bills, and also the cost of processing originals, particularly those coming from Japan,” according to the general delegate.” as Servin said in her article.
Complaints also arose from inside the festival, as art directors involved in the 2025 edition told L’Humanité they did not have employment contracts, and there were numerous cases of discouragement and burnout within the company that manages the FIBD.
Criticism also came from the authors themselves, including the fact they had no dedicated space, and weren’t paid for book signings or meetings in which they participated until 2022. The prestigious prizes awarded to authors do not come with any money, and are said to be presented by pop stars that have nothing to do with comics, such as Zabou Breitman, a French actress who said before participating in the festival that she never really read comics.
But the main allegations were of sexual misconduct and a climate of insecurity for young female authors. Accusations of sexual misconduct have not been uncommon, with women saying they have been placed in a precarious position in the festival's former structure, which was dominated by male authors. For example, in the 2016 festival, not a single woman was listed among the 30 nominees for the awards. This event led to the creation of BDegalite, the Collective of Women and Gender Minorities Comic Book Creators Against Sexism. Also, the MetooBD [MeTooComics] movement has listed and shared 21 anonymous testimonials of rape, gender-based violence, and sexual harassment that occurred in the French comics world. A lot of those testimonials took place during the Angouleme Festival.
Finally, here’s what really sparked things off: In Servin’s article, Chloé (her name was changed for the article, but she recently came forward in an interview with the TV station France3), a 9eArt+ employee, spoke out about being raped by one of the festival’s collaborators in 2024. After confiding to Bondoux about the incident, she was fired for misrepresenting the festival’s image.
What’s going on now?
That was the last straw. Cases of sexual assault and sexist management of female participants were shared by authors, editors, and employees of 9e art + during the festival. This created a wave of protest and led to a mobilization of female and gender minorities authors, a “girlcott” that is bearing fruit today. To quote artist Jul Maroh (author of Blue is the Warmest Color) from a post on their Instagram account, "For 50 years, comic book artists have never been able to take part in the organization of the FIBD, even though their work is at its heart. This month's ‘girlcott’ is the sole reason they've been invited for the first time to finally sit on the future ADBDA (Association for the Development of Comics in Angoulême), proving that those protests and the girlcott have a real impact on how seriously authors' voices are taken."
These movements succeeded in putting pressure on the festival’s partners and organizers, which seemingly have taken the act to cancel the 2026 edition of the Angoulême Festival. But this cancellation still remains opaque. Despite the announcement on Nov. 19 and the ongoing boycott by authors and their unions, 9e Art+, and FIBD’s president Delphine Groux remain in place, even though there are calls for their departure. In a long email, Groux asserted that cancellation would be a disaster for the Charente region, expressed her astonishment at the situation, and made no mention of the authors' demands, going so far as to compare the boycott to Robespierre's Reign of Terror. The French Minister of Culture, Rachida Dati, intervened by announcing a 60% reduction in state subsidies, while the mayor of Angoulême, Xavier Bonnefont, seems to be taking a cautious approach in the run-up to the legislative elections. To date, it is the authors who continue to maintain pressure through the girlcott, asserting — as ComicBeat points out —that there will be no participation in the 2026 FIBD until Bondoux, Groux, and 9e Art+ are completely removed from the festival's management.
The latest news as of late last week appears to be that the 2026 festival is on an indefinite hold, and it seems unlikely that the show will continue as planned.
In those new and tumultuous times, there is an urge to create a new festival for and by authors, one that's more inclusive for women and gender minorities. This festival would have a policy that respects everyone's artistic practices and would provide a safe space and fair compensation for all comic artists.
The girlcott proves that, as books can’t be made without authors, festivals can’t be held. The below manifesto doesn’t aim at sabotage but it is rather a way for artists to think of new alternatives to spread their works in a comic festival without sexism. It is also a way for them to voice their demands, as they are the heart and soul of a festival that privileges working without them.
The 2026 Angoulême Festival is canceled, long live the Angoulême Festival!
The girlcott manifesto
"For several days, the comic book community has been in turmoil over the crisis shaking the Angoulême Festival.
"This festival has been a staple for us and a vital part of the comic world, and we loved it, but the reception and working conditions there have deteriorated over the past twenty years.
"Historically, we — women and gender minorities — have been made invisible. Over time, we have earned our place, and together we intend to make our voices heard. From now on, without us, there will be no books, no awards, no market, no festival.
"The official reappointment of Frank Bondoux's company, 9e Art +, to head the organization of the FIBD (Angoulême International Comics Festival) on Nov. 8 caused an expected outcry.
"In January, Chloé’s story during the previous FIBD edition added fuel to a difficult-to-contain anger. Rather than protecting and helping her, her employer, 9eArt +, fired her for gross misconduct after she filed a complaint for rape against a festival collaborator. Following her dismissal, she found herself isolated and without income.
"We, comic book creators, who had already been mobilized well before this official renewal, launched a girlcott against the 2026 edition of the festival. Anouk Ricard, winner of the 2025 Grand Prize, was the first author to launch the boycott, following the inter-organizational call and petition in April, taking a strong stance against sexual and sexist violence in and around the festival.
"Chloé is not an isolated case. Her story is one of hundreds of others, shrouded in silence and omertà. This lack of humanity, this silence, sends a clear and unacceptable message to victims. And we will not tolerate it.
"Even though the issue is well known, documented, and denounced, sexist and sexual violence continues to be prevalent in our professions. For a decade, BDégalité has been raising awareness about these issues, joined in 2022 by MeTooBD. The mistreatment never applies only to women; it leads to a general attitude of relationships built on power dynamics.
"These facts have been ignored for too long by a festival that focuses more on market value and financial interests than on creativity — and by a milieu in a patriarchal society where cisgender heterosexual white men enjoy privileges.
"We insist that we women, and with us all gender minorities, are the driving force behind this mobilization. Because we believe that the Angoulême Festival is still not doing enough, whether on issues of gender-based, sexual, racist, ableist, or LGBT-phobic violence.
"Humanity no longer has a place in this festival; only profit and international renown prevail. The verticality of power at 9eArt + and its desire to turn competing authors into stars are symptomatic of liberalism. Well, no, we refuse to be autograph-signing silhouettes under sponsored glitter.
"We want a reform that will help reshape this event to promote diversity in creation, defend a more ethical treatment of individuals who participate in it in one way or another, and ensure that comics are considered a cultural asset, accessible to all, and not a purely commercial product. Everything is connected.
"This historic girlcott has shown us that comic book professionals can stand united. We want to remind you not to despise us, to belittle us, or to exploit us. We have fiercely earned our place in this festival, we care about this event, and we are determined. We’ll reiterate: we are in a position to overturn the power dynamics.
"We demand an event free of violence. We demand fair and immediate measures, built with us. We refuse to be sacrificed in the name of image, profitability, or the myth of a vocation. We are acting so that systemic violence and sexual and gender-based violence and harassment cease. We welcome the hope of new governance for the editions starting in 2028. We have many ideas, desires, and wishes for this festival.
"And we will not attend the 2026 FIBD organized by 9eArt+.
"We believe you, Chloe."
Here is the link to the name of all the signatories.
The post Minute papillon! The 285 Manifesto girlcott halts the 2026 Angoulême Festival appeared first on The Comics Journal.
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