French stars are rightly worried by billionaire Vincent Bolloré. Here’s how to rein him in

Key Takeaways

• The shadow of Joseph McCarthy’s “red scare” loomed over the storied steps of this year’s Cannes film festival.
• Echoing the mid-20th-century blacklist, which shut out about 300 suspected communists from Hollywood, the French media group Canal+ announced an effective ban on twice that many French cinema professionals, including actors such as Juliette Binoche and film directors such as Jean-Pascal Zadi and Arthur Harari.
• An open letter denouncing the growing influence on French media and cinema of conservative tycoon Vincent Bolloré, Canal+’s main shareholder.
• The Canal+ chief executive, Maxime Saada, justified punishing the signatories on the basis that their claim was an “injustice” against the staff of Canal+ – who were, he said, committed to the organisation’s independence.
• Bolloré has consolidated control over a significant portion of France’s news and entertainment media over the past decade, from the Fox News-like CNews to the Journal du Dimanche, Europe 1 radio, and the publisher Fayard.