Cannes Film Festival workers call for strike ahead of opening

Workers at the Cannes Film Festival in France have called for a strike over pay and conditions on Monday, just a week before the international event is due to start.

A collective of cinema workers have called for strike on 6 May 2024, one week before the opening of the 77th edition of the Cannes Film Festival. AFP - LIONEL BONAVENTURE

Members of a collective called Sous les Ecrans la Dèche (Broke Behind the Screens) said they did not intend to cause significant disruption but wanted to draw attention to long-running demands. 

"The strike will not put the opening of the festival at risk but there could be disruptions as it goes on," a spokesperson told French news agency AFP.

The group said it represented around 100 workers, including projectionists, programmers, press agents and ticket sellers. 

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They work on short-term contracts but do not fall under France's unemployment insurance scheme for freelance artists and technicians in the cultural sector, which tops up salaries to a minimum wage. 

"Most of us will have to give up working, which will jeopardise the events," the group said in a statement.

"The latest reforms of unemployment benefits in France and the one scheduled for 1 July of this year, which will be passed by decree, are further hardening the benefit rules for employment seekers," the collective wrote.

Long-running demands

"The forthcoming opening of the Cannes Film Festival has a bitter taste for us this year," it added. 

The festival organisers did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

Protests regularly erupt on and around the Croisette each year. In 2023, protesters held rallies against the French government's pension reforms, while environmental activist called for the defence of indigenous rights in Brazil.

In 2022, pro-Ukrainian protesters called attention to Russia's invasion.

Festival goers wave Ukrainian flags upon arrival at the premiere of the film 'EO' at the 75th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Thursday, 19 May, 2022. AP - Petros Giannakouris

The event on the French Cote d'Azur is considered the most prestigious for the world's film industry, attracting some 40,000 people each year. 

This year's festival is due to run from 14 to 25 May, with icons including Francis Ford Coppola, Georges Lucas and Meryl Streep set to attend.

French actress Camille Cottin, star of Netflix hit Call My Agent, is to be the host of this 77th edition, with French stars Omar Sy and Eva Green as part of 2024 Cannes Film Festival jury.

 (with AFP)