Cannes: Employees call for strike and demand unemployment benefits

UPDATE 5/7 with response from Cannes: A French union representing freelance workers at film festivals across France is calling for a strike ahead of the Cannes Film Festival in response to a threatened change in French labor law.

The Sous les écrans la dèche (Bankruptcy Behind the Scenes) collective says a new policy the French government wants to introduce could cut unemployment benefits in half. They are calling on the Cannes Film Festival, which starts next week, to accommodate them with a collective agreement that would give them 18 months of retroactive unemployment benefits.

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“Our warnings and requests have so far been politely received, but neither the CNC nor the Ministry of Culture have offered any concrete measures,” says an open letter obtained by IndieWire. “That is why the upcoming opening of the Cannes Festival leaves a bitter aftertaste for us.”

In a joint statement to the union, employers at the various French film festivals – including Cannes and three other festivals where the group is employed as freelancers – said they were aware of the challenges facing staff under the new unemployment rules and were ready to negotiate despite the urgency ahead of the Cannes Film Festival, which begins next week.

“In order to start constructive reflections aimed at reforming the status of these workers, all the festivals, institutions and unions concerned must come to the negotiating table,” the statement said. “This is the work that must now be undertaken together.”

France has a system for freelancers that gives them benefits (called “compensation”) when they are not working. However, to qualify for benefits, they must work a certain number of hours. This hurdle will be raised from July 1, meaning freelancers will have to work more to earn what they earn today. The group says the change in the law could cut their benefits by more than half of their current wages.

The collective is calling for a strike in Cannes and all its satellite venues in the hope that Cannes can hire them full-time and help them cover the salaries they would otherwise lose under the new law.

Cannes will take place from May 14 to 25. Read the full statement from Sous les écrans la dèche below, followed by the reaction from Cannes and other festivals:

For a year now, we, members of the collective “Sous les écrans la dèche” (Broke Behind the Screens), have been warning about the increasing precariousness of people working at film festivals.

We alternate between short-term assignments and periods of unemployment and, despite the irregular nature of our profession and our desire to spread film work, our activity is not covered by the French social security law for show business workers with irregular status!

The recent reforms of unemployment benefits in France, and the one planned for July 1 this year to be adopted by decree, further tighten benefit rules for jobseekers.

These reforms put festival workers in such a precarious position that the majority of us will have to give up our jobs, which in turn puts at risk the events we participate in. That is why we are demanding that the organizations that employ us join a collective agreement that allows us to be hired as intermittent show business workers and that our jobs be integrated into the unemployment benefit system retroactively for the last 18 months.

Our warnings and requests have so far been politely received, but no concrete measures have been offered by the CNC or the Ministry of Culture. This is why the upcoming opening of the Cannes Festival leaves a bitter taste in our mouths.

Given the extreme vulnerability and the absolute urgency to protect our work, and following consultation and agreement with the collective members, we are calling on all employees of the Cannes Film Festival and its supporting actors to go on strike.

Joint statement from French film festivals:

“In addition to the press release from the protest group Sous les écrans la dèche, the Festival de Cannes, the Quinzaine des Cinéastes, the Semaine de la Critique and the ACID would like to stress that they are aware of the difficulties faced by some of their employees, who work under a number of contracts for film festivals and are affected by the reform of the French unemployment insurance system and are facing a reduction in their benefits. Faced with this situation, we hope that solutions will be found and are ready to create permanent conditions for dialogue to support them. We are aware of the sounding board that the Cannes Festival and its parallel selections represent and understand the timeliness of these demands. But in order to make a constructive reflection on the reform of the status of these workers, all the festivals concerned, the institutions and the unions must come to the negotiating table. This is the work that must now be undertaken together.”

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