(Content warning: This article contains references to sexual assault)
The man who shocked the French comic book industry this year with his accusations against 9e Art+, the company that runs the Angoulême festival, has given up his anonymity and spoken out. Her case as the anonymous “Chloe” was uncovered in a damning Humanite investigation in January and became a lightning rod for a campaign against the long-running organization, which today has brought one of the world’s biggest comics festivals to a standstill.
We have known for some time that she was reportedly raped while working at 9e Art+ during the 2024 Angoulême Festival and was fired from the company shortly after going public with the incident. The news had a huge impact, sparking extraordinary protests during this year’s festival weekend (January 29th to February 2nd, 2025), and once again raising the ever-present issues of sexism, sexual violence and harassment within and outside the French comics industry. It also highlighted 9e Art+’s nearly 20-year tenure as operator of the 50-year-old festival, and some of the troubling accusations about 9e Art+ boss Frank Bondu, namely toxic management and misogyny. 2025 edition “Chloe, on te Croa!” ” (tr. “Chloe, we believe in you!”) was a rallying cry, widely given voice on the streets and in the booths. It’s the breaking point of years of dissatisfaction with the company, which has also faced accusations of over-commercialization, financial fraud and poor treatment of creators.
But Chloe is a real person. She had previously chosen to remain anonymous to protect her future job prospects, but on Friday she chose to come forward to tell her story on France 3 television. Her name is Elise Boucher Tran.
She said in an interview (note: translation by DeepL):
“It’s not my place to be ashamed of what happened, so I have to show my face.”
Multilingual Elise, who can speak eight languages and worked abroad for more than three years, returned to France in September 2023 and started working as communications manager at 9e Art+, the organizer of the Angoulême festival. She acknowledged allegations of a toxic work environment in an interview with France3, citing constantly angry, nagging, demanding, and impatient managers who lowered morale for herself and her colleagues. During the festival weekend, she had no time to go outside or see the fancy exhibitions she was promoting.
Her reported assault occurred late at night on Friday, January 26, 2024, after business hours. Held annually from Thursday to Sunday, it is the midpoint of a festival that explodes into the cafes, restaurants, bistros and bars that line the streets of the medieval city. Elise can’t remember what happened, but she does know that on the morning of Saturday, January 27, she woke up naked in the bed of a contractor who also worked at the festival. “My neighbor said we slept together, but I don’t remember anything about that night,” she said. She then realized she may have been drugged.
Speaking to France3, she said:
“I told myself that what happened to me was impossible. I couldn’t bring myself to use the word ‘rape’. The most shocking part was that the people involved were not questioned and were asked to continue working together after the festival.”
She immediately mentioned this to a co-worker who sent her to speak to 9e Art+’s human resources manager, who advised her to take the morning-after pill. Elise also told her managers what happened that night, but she said their only response was to thank her for her service during the festival and to say she would receive a bonus. As it turned out, she didn’t receive a bonus and couldn’t keep her job.
Elise Boucher Tran — France 3 Interview screenshot
After the festival ended, Elise, who was visiting Paris, received a phone call. Although she does not name names, a male manager (possibly Frank Bondu) called her and asked if she intended to press charges. I didn’t do it at the time, but a doctor’s appointment convinced me to do it. As soon as she said she would, communication suddenly stopped. “From that moment on, no one said anything to me,” she says.
On March 4, she returned to work at Angoulême after a leave of absence, only to be called in by her employer, who allegedly mentioned her “unacceptable conduct.” She was sent home and forbidden to “speak to anyone.”
She also recalls:
“When I called him to explain what happened to me, he questioned whether I had cheated (with the contractor), about my attire…I even received an email describing me as a ‘tempter’. He was conducting an internal investigation on my colleagues…It was disgusting.”
She then received a letter informing her of a preliminary interview before termination. She was officially fired on March 14th.
Isolated, the shock of the incident and her sudden dismissal by her employer had a devastating effect on her mental health (she told France 3 that she still takes antidepressants). Elise, who was fired for gross misconduct, said she was unable to continue her career or remain in the cultural sector because all interviewers required references from previous employers. She moved back in with her parents because she had been unemployed for over a year and had no sustainable income. She is reportedly not eligible for state unemployment benefits. While pursuing legal options, Elise racked up mounting travel expenses. She has two parallel cases in Angoulême, far from her current location, requiring a slow train journey and overnight stay through the system.
Another France3 interview:
“It was really a double punishment: the rape and the punishment for it. It put me into depression and I gained 50 pounds…It was terrible.”
Elise’s case was discovered by Humanite reporter Lucy Selvin while investigating 9e Art+’s management deficiencies. Launched in the last months of 2024, Lucie systematically contacted former employees of the company and met with Élise in December. Over coffee, Elise reveals to Lucy that she was fired after reporting the assault. “I was shocked,” Lucy said in an email. “Then I worked with my attorney to create a file.”
When the findings were released on January 24, 2025, just days before this year’s festival, the findings were shocking. Support for Elise, whose identity in her work was hidden behind the pseudonym “Chloe,” was immediate from a group outraged by the Frank Bondu/9e Art+ regime and appalled by her abandonment. After months of isolation, Elise was added to an author group on WhatsApp, which provided emotional and moral support. A crowdfunding campaign has been launched to help cover her costs. Anger against 9e Art+ has been steadily growing over the past two decades, but Elise’s story inspired many to push for the company’s removal from the Angoulême festival.
Fundraising Page — Screengrab, November 22nd
A coalition of writers’ unions, now known as Inter-Org BD, launched a petition in April in conjunction with anti-sexism campaign group MeTooBD, which quickly gathered more than 2,000 signatures threatening a boycott. It condemned 9e Art+’s harmful practices and demanded the termination of its contract (scheduled for renewal in May) and an open recruitment for a replacement. Signed by some of the biggest names in international and French comics, including Alison Bechdel, Posy Simmons, Julie Doucet, Art Spiegelman and Catherine Meurice, the publisher relied on the Angoulême festival owners association FIBD to end its partnership with 9e Art+ and participate in a public call process. While this process was taking place, the decision to secretly restart the contract with 9e Art+ on November 8th (they had hoped to co-propose with the public organization Cité de la BD) led to a full-fledged boycott of artists and the rapid withdrawal of publishers, bringing the 52-year-old festival to the brink of collapse. Additionally, leaked reports of token female-centered programming being planned led to accusations of “pink” washing, and the parallel rise of the “girlcott” movement.
Meanwhile, Elise’s case was not forgotten. After a week of emergency meetings to save the festival, on Sunday, November 16th, a cadre of 285 women writers/creators, including members of the Collectif des créatrices de BD contre le sexisme (Collectif des créatrices de BD contre le sexisme), published an open letter in Humanité magazine stating:
“Chloe’s story at the last festival in January 2025 further inflamed anger that was already difficult to contain…Chloe is not an isolated case. Her story is one of hundreds of others that have been suppressed by silence and inaction. This dehumanization and silence sends a clear and unacceptable message to victims, and we will not tolerate it.”
Added again
“…We believe that the Angoulême Festival also falls short in matters of sexist, sexual, racist, ableist, or LGBT-phobic violence.”
Meanwhile, the writers’ group that launched the massive boycott that intensified on November 8th declared conditions. Snac-BD’s FIBD 3.0 manifesto and Inter-Org BD list of demands include the need for training and protection against gender discrimination, sexual harassment, and violence not only at the annual festival itself, but also in future organizational structures. As of now, the 2026 Angoulême Festival has been officially canceled as scheduled for 9e Art+. The festival and its copyright owner, the association FIBD, are in a disgraceful position, and the Angoulême Comics Development Association (ADBDA), an expanded integration of stakeholders including public partners, author unions and publisher groups, will shape the future of the festival.
Elise is currently pursuing two lawsuits simultaneously in French courts with the help of her lawyer Arie Alimi. Her rape is being treated as a criminal case in the Angoulême District Court, and the official charge is “rape with the submission of a chemical substance” (faits de viol avec somission chimique), which in U.S. legal terminology is drug-facilitated sexual assault (DFSA). The alleged perpetrator denies all wrongdoing. An employment tribunal against her former employer 9e Art+ is also due to be heard in Angoulême in the coming weeks.
Elise’s lawyer, Arie Alimi, also expressed confidence in Elise’s chances of winning the case, France3 reported on Friday.
“There are some striking similarities between Elise’s reporting of the rape to her employer and the day of her termination. It is important to note that Elise’s safety was not considered when reporting the rape. We hold her employer guilty of gross negligence. We have a body of testimony and evidence that can be used to convict…Everyone needs to understand that when victims speak out, their words must be taken seriously.The festival organization and the public authorities were inflexible and refused to see the truth. ”
France3 also granted time to 9e Art+’s legal representative, Muriel Dehiles, to respond to the complaint. She immediately dismissed the criminal case and the company’s liability, saying the incident took place “after hours” and was committed by someone outside the company (a contract employee). She also claimed that there is no harmful management at 9e Art+, there is no evidence to support it, and that the situation is being exploited by outside parties.
Regarding the employment tribunal proceedings and the circumstances of Ms Elise’s dismissal, Muriel Dehires claims that the company had no knowledge of the alleged sexual assault at the time she was made redundant.
According to the lawyers at 9e Art+:
“The CEO of the company (Bondu) had encouraged her to file a complaint. Until then, her only reference was to the fact that she had been drugged. Once the termination notice was sent on March 4, 2024, the next day she wrote a letter to her employer entitled ‘Revelation of Rape Act’. The rape allegation was made after termination proceedings had been initiated, not the other way around.”
Also:
“Prior to the dismissal process, she was requested to meet and was interviewed by the director of 9e Art+. The questions were asked without judgment. At no point did I hear Frank Bondu make any judgments about Elise’s attitude towards the alleged rapist.”
While the coverage of this experience has helped shape and drive change at the festival, the upcoming literal ordeal could have its own form of significant change for Elise, whose life and career have not yet fully moved on from the experience of the early months of 2024.
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