This evening’s opening night gala in Cannes was briefly interrupted when festival staffers staged a labor protest next to the red carpet.
Around a dozen Cannes staffers, covertly stationed next to the red carpet, blew whistles and held red Sous Les Écrans La Dèche placards as the Cannes jury led by Juliette Binoche made their way into the opening night gala.
The protest was almost immediately shut off by armed police. We captured footage of the brief demonstration, which you can view below. However, Deadline’s journalist was barred from filming the demonstration by a festival official. The official told us on the ground, “Sometimes you’re allowed to film but sometimes not.”
We broke the news earlier today that Cannes staffers were planning protests at this evening’s opening ceremony to raise awareness of their working conditions. The group of protestors is organized under the unofficial union Sous Les Écrans La Dèche, which includes 300 film festival workers from across France, including staff who work on the Cannes Official Selection, the festival’s Marché du Film, and parallel sections of Directors’ Fortnight and Critics’ Week.
The group’s main objectives are the same as we reported ahead of last year’s Cannes Film Festival, during which they executed similar small demonstrations. They want to be included in France’s unique unemployment insurance program for entertainment workers and technicians. Known as Intermittence de Spectacle, the scheme supports entertainment workers on short-term contracts with an unemployment benefit when they are between jobs or projects. The payments are funded through taxes paid by employers. Due to quirks in the regulations, many workers at French film festivals have long been excluded from the unemployment benefit. Instead, they are hired and handed flat short-term contracts. The collective is campaigning to be included in the scheme, citing the inherent seasonal nature of the work.
The Sous les Écrans la Dèche movement has some high-profile supporters. French filmmaker Justine Triet wore the group’s bright red pin on her suit lapel as she walked the red carpet for Palme d’Or winner Anatomy of a Fall at Cannes in 2023. This year’s Cannes Film Festival jury member Payal Kapadia was wearing the same pin as she debuted All We Imagine as Light on the Croisette in 2024.
Cannes opens this evening with Leave One Day by first-time French filmmaker Amelie Bonnin. The festival runs until May 24.
