Authors Union Syndicat des Travailleur.euses Artist-Auteurs (Working Artists and Authors, STAA) vows to promote the boycott of the 2026 Angoulême Festival. This is happening despite recent moves by the Festival Owners Association FIBD to begin the bidding process for the alternate event hosting and news, in which unpopular representative Frank Bondau will retire after the 2027 event.
In April, the STAA won French headlines with 2,000 strong petitions with Metobud against the association, triggering a surprise closing door declaration that the nonprofit would form a joint venture with Bondoux’s 9e Art+. The petition requested a termination of the agreement with 9E ART+ and a public call for an alternative bid. Among the signatures were Chris Ware, Posy Simmonds, Art Spiegelman, Joe Sacco and Alison Bechdel. Everyone has signed up to boycott the next edition, scheduled to take place from January 29th to February 1st, 2026.
In the past few weeks, Bondou announced plans to leave its role as a generation delegate after 2027, and the association has opened an appeal for alternative event organizers whose Bondoux company 9E ART+ has been allowed to bid for updates. The idea of a joint venture was quietly dropped. It is little clear about how the bidder decision-making process will be carried out, but the application window will end on October 17th, with the next contract owner declared on November 8th. A press release from the festival claimed that syndicates/unions from major industry are happy with the move.
In its first statement since the announcement of their boycott, the STAA said that the removal from the debate, the lack of transparency in the lawsuit, and the possibility of Bond’s continued involvement via 9E ART+ (he is a majority shareholder) did not give them confidence to stop things.
In a message delivered on August 8th, STAA said:
“…The Angarem Festival) and the Anglem Comic Development Association contacted us to hear the demands of 400 writers who signed the boycott call. The only response of the Anglem Society was through the media. (President of the Association FIBD) Delphine Groux.
“This means that 9EART+ can be expressed, among other things, with or without the Frank Bond, which is more or less mentioned in the press release.
They conclude:
“So we emphasize and repeat. No, we are not confirming all participation. Yes, boycotts are still valid. This call is welcomed with peace of mind by many of us and remains the only means of pressure that the profession requires a change in the organization of the Angaurum Festival. The privilege of one small group that holds a monopoly.”
STAA is a labor union formed in 2020 to address the instability of French creative freelancers. As freelancers, they are unable to make national contributions through their employers, thus not having access to unemployment insurance or holidays.
Franck Bondoux – ©Alistair Dabbs
The Angoulême Festival is one of the largest comic events in the world. While owned by a nonprofit, it has been contracting with private companies since 2007 to bring together the event. The current contract owner, 9E ART+, was introduced at the time, and its founder, Franck Bondoux, has overcome many scandals and complaints about the commercialization of its precious cultural events. 2025 is when contracts are renewed, and many in the industry are keen to break this perceived, toxic relationship.
For more information about Angouleme Crisis, see the overview.
Full Text – (translation that combines English text provided by STAA with additional translations from the original STAA French text to clarify)
The FIBD Association is bluffing: Transparency or Red Herring?
There has been a lot of activity surrounding the event’s organization since the last Angouleme festival and the petition to boycott the next edition. The agreement between the association and 9EART+ has ended, and Delphine Groux, the association’s FIBD president, has since begun calling for a proposal. Various twists (ADBDA) related to numerous behind-the-scenes meetings between the Festival Association and the Development Association of Angoulême’s Comics Association (ADBDA) have been reported in many reporters.
Various developments related to multiple closed door meetings between the Festival Association and ADBDA have been reported in many reporters. The arbitrary timing of the project’s appeal is the syndicate of the ocean and national publishers (SNE), and pressure from public funders. It is even said that Frank Bondor will leave. I heard I won.
And we learned that indirectly “profession” lifted boycotts. But if there is no professional representative election in the comic book industry and meetings between stakeholders of various festivals under the auspices of ADBDA are not subject to public reporting, who are we talking about? And does that mean that the association has been trapped in the same structure since 2017?
Neither SNE nor the sea nor the National Union of Authors and Composers – Comics Branch (SNAC BD) called for boycotts. They also did not sign our petition. It is therefore rather surprising that in the latest press release from FIBD’s public funders, “representatives from various national union agencies representing publishers and authors confirmed their participation in the 2026 edition.”
Neither FIBD nor ADBDA contacted us and heard the requests of the 400 authors who signed the boycott call. The only response from the Angoulême Association was through the press. They were told there that if they were not satisfied with the festival, they would need to submit proposals to the project’s appeal. The appeal for projects whose terms can only be accessed after submitting an application to Delphine Groux is “reserved for (…) structure () and dedicated to the event, and does not allow the distribution of profits, so you must meet the criteria necessary to apply and earn profits from public grants.” This means that, among other things, can be expressed as 9eart+ with or without Frank Bond. Furthermore, as Franck Bondoux is a major shareholder of 9EART+, it is difficult to see that he will not continue to be involved in managing the festival in any way. Will his daughter, Johanna Bondor, be his place?
So we repeat it over and over. No, we haven’t confirmed all participation. Yes, boycotting is still effective. This call is welcomed with peace of mind by many of us and continues to be the only means of pressure that the profession will require changes to the organization of the Angouleme Festival. The festival is primarily funded by the community, and is at the heart of the comic book world, and it is unacceptable that the way it is organized is the privilege of one small group that holds its monopoly.
Publishing associations are committed to defending the sector’s economic interests, and it is difficult to expect to freeze participation in the 2026 edition a day later (usually hotel and booth bookings during the summer). The same cannot be said for the author. Without us there would be no exhibitions, meetings, book signings, and therefore festivals. While we cannot rely on national calls to carry out large-scale actions from SNAC BD, we can rely on other groups and unions that are not represented within the ADBDA. Authors and Artists Workers Union (STAA CNT-SO), Metobud, National Artists Union (SNAP CGT), Collectif Des Créatrices de Contrei contre existem collective collective collective collective collective des collectif illustration authors Federation (Abdil), Comic Critics Association (ACBD), National Union of Arts and Design Schools (SNéad-CGT), Future of the Micropublishing Festival-Fringe Event, Spanish Comic Writers Collective (Colectivo de Autoras de Cómic).
Boycotting is a powerful tool. Collective actions are different. And it is only by organizing together that our perspective, the perspective of the workers of the comic book industry, is strong enough to be ultimately heard and considered.
If you come to Angoulême in January 2026, are you ready to boycott the book’s signature? Are you ready to protest? we. Let’s stay in touch.
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