Considered the most important comic book event in the world, the Angoulême International Comics Festival usually welcomes nearly 6000 comics professionals from all over the world to the French city – but not, it seems, next year.
After months of controversy surrounding the Festival, usually encompassing 20 different places across the city of Angoulême, including exhibitions, thematic spaces, comic shows, masterclasses and more, organiser 9e Art+ has officially put production of the 2026 event on indefinite hold.
Angoulême is also home to the stunning Musée de la Bande Dessinée, which has been celebrating the Ninth Art in all its forms for over thirty years.
Dean Simons, who has been documenting the problems around the Festival for months for The Beat, reports the news broke through an email circulated to publishers.
“While not an official cancellation, it is a further sign that the event – scheduled for January 29 to February 1, 2026 – will not go ahead,” he reports.
“We would like to inform you that production of the 2026 edition of the Angoulême Festival has been suspended for the time being,” 9e Art+ sales director Noémie de La Soujeole said in an email shared to French news outlets. “We will be in touch with you very soon to provide further details. Thank you for your understanding. Best regards.”
There has yet to be any further statement on the Festival’s official website. The announcement came just before a deadline for publishers to cancel booths and get refunds, much to further fury.
The Angoulême International Comics Festival, first held in 1974, is run by a non-profit association but has been put on by the private company 9eArt+ since 2007.
It became increasingly uncertain it might not take place in 2026 after widely reported claims of toxic management, and the dismissal of a member of staff who had lodged a rape complaint.
Multiple creators and publishers began boycotting the prestigious event, and the French government withdrew a tranche of its funding.
Elise Bouché-Tran, whose alleged rape during the 2024 Festival and dismissal by her employer 9eArt+ were revealed to have occurred under the name Chloé, was being questioned by the investigating judge at the Angoulême courthouse this week. The case is ongoing.
The French BD group of Snac, (the Syndicat National des Auteurs et des Compositeurs, in English the National Union of Authors and Composers), which has represented creators in France for over 70 years, has called for an “inclusive and open festival”.
Further demands include a call for a “transparent and healthy management”, “exemplary in the fight against gender-based and sexual violence and harassment” and “more affordable entrance fees” if free admission cannot be established.
Snac also suggested shifting the Festival to spring or autumn. You can read their proposals here (PDF document, in French).
“It has been almost exactly a week since the November 20 press conference held by public financial partners (comprising local, national, regional and departmental bodies),” Dean notes. “Their representatives were led by Angoulême mayor Xavier Bonnefont, who said funding for the 2026 edition would cease and recommended the show not go ahead. Public bodies provide almost half of the show’s budget.”
“So no sign of rescuing this major event in time now,” notes comics auteur Paul Gravett. “Let’s hope for justice for Elise, and a whole new spirit and vision for the 2027 Festival!”
While it is readily apparent the Festival faced multiple problems, its outright cancellation after decades of success is a blow to the wider comics industry, and the local economy of Angoulême, and the organisers actions will have long lasting consequences for the promotion of comics in France and beyond. They clearly have much to answer for.
Let’s hope Snac’s proposals for change form the basis for lasting and positive change going forward.
• Charente Libre: Angoulême, La BD en Crise : Les Dessous d’une Tempête Inêdite (French reports on the crisis for the Festival)
• You can read the Snac proposals for the future of the Festival here (PDF document, in French)
• Snac, the Syndicat National des Auteurs et des Compositeurs
• Angoulême International Comics Festival – Official Site
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John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.
He’s the writer of comics such as Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs”, with Dave Hailwood.
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