Freelance workers at the Cannes Film Festival staged a protest on Tuesday evening during the festival’s opening ceremony, calling attention to their poor working conditions. The demonstration, backed by the labor organization Sous les écrans la dèche (“Broke Behind the Screens”), marked the second consecutive year of such protests.
A small group of demonstrators gathered in front of the Palais des Festivals, echoing a similar protest last year that included a rooftop display. Despite being a modest turnout, their message remained focused on demands for fair labor rights.
Sous les écrans la dèche, which represents a wide range of festival workers—such as projectionists, drivers, and caterers—said its earlier protests had led to negotiations for a new collective agreement aimed at safeguarding freelance workers’ incomes. However, after six months of talks, discussions stalled. The group had hoped to secure an amendment to France’s unemployment insurance regulations to protect these workers.
France has a unique unemployment system that provides benefits to freelance professionals in the film and TV industries. To qualify, workers must meet a required number of work hours each year. In recent years, government budget cuts have slashed these benefits by 50%, intensifying the financial pressure on freelancers.
In a public statement, the organization explained the core issue: “The aim was to define a list of roles eligible for the intermittent worker scheme, allowing our professions to escape the precarious situation caused by the 2021 unemployment insurance reforms. If we cannot make a living from our professions, what future is there for festivals?”
Celine Petit, a senior official with the CGT trade union in Nice, confirmed her group’s support for the protest. She urged workers to mobilize for this critical moment during the festival’s opening. Although protests around the Palais are banned by Cannes’ mayor, a demonstration was planned to begin at 6:30 p.m. near Cannes’ city hall, ending on the red carpet. Petit also hinted that additional actions could occur throughout the festival.
Ahead of the event, festival organizers circulated a memo to staff, outlining rules for social media use and interactions with the press. The memo emphasized maintaining “political neutrality” when engaging with festival-goers. Organizers clarified that these instructions were general guidelines and not specifically aimed at labor-related protests.
The protest movement has garnered support from prominent filmmakers. French director Justine Triet and Indian filmmaker Payal Kapadia both wore the group’s symbolic red pin during their Cannes premieres in 2023 and 2024, respectively. This year, Kapadia is serving on the Cannes competition jury.
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