Canal+ threatens to cut cinema funding by up to 75% over proposed French pay-TV tax hike

Proposed tax increase and broadcaster reaction

The French government introduced a provision in its draft 2027 finance bill to eliminate the 10% reduced value-added tax rate for linear pay-television services, raising it to the standard 20% rate applied to streaming platforms such as Netflix. Speaking on RTL radio on Monday, 5 October 2026, Canal+ Group chairman Maxime Saada stated that the tax revision would cost the company approximately 200 million euros annually. The draft budget presented by the executive seeks 43 billion euros in combined spending cuts and new revenues to address national debt. Saada described the measure as anti-economic and argued that the company cannot sustain such an increase in domestic operating expenses.

Canal+ in France is not in a position to absorb a shock of 200 million euros.

Repercussions for French film funding

Canal+ represents the largest private financier of the French film sector, providing 163 million euros across 148 French films in 2025 and prefinancing 104 of those titles, which accounted for nearly half of all broadcaster investments in French-initiative films. In July 2026, the broadcaster signed a five-year agreement with cinema industry groups to invest 980 million euros between 2028 and 2032, representing an average of 196 million euros per year. Saada warned that the contract would automatically lapse if the tax increase takes effect, leading to a reduction in financed films of 50% to 75%. If Canal+ limits its spending to strict statutory minimum obligations, its annual cinema contributions would decline to approximately 50 million euros. In response, thirteen film industry organizations sent a joint letter to President Emmanuel Macron warning of severe consequences for domestic production.

Impact on subscriber fees and operations

To mitigate the potential tax burden, Canal+ plans to raise retail subscription prices by approximately 10%, though nearly 90% of existing customers hold one- or two-year contracts that prevent immediate price modifications. Saada noted that higher subscription costs will cause subscriber cancellations and could lead to adjustments in employment levels as well as spending on sports rights. The broader Canal+ group operates in 70 countries, generating approximately 9 billion euros in annual revenue and targeting worldwide profits of 700 million euros. However, Saada stated that domestic operations in France are barely profitable after requiring a decade of restructuring to recover from annual losses of 400 million euros recorded before Vincent Bolloré became the principal shareholder.

A channel that is not profitable disappears.

Parliamentary debate and political background

Canal+ announced that it will lobby members of parliament during the upcoming legislative review of the 2027 finance bill in an effort to amend the text. Saada pointed to statements made one month earlier by President Emmanuel Macron regarding the necessity of preserving French cultural exceptionalism. The executive also addressed questions concerning whether the proposed tax change represented a political response against conservative billionaire Vincent Bolloré, whose holding controls Canal+ and news channel CNews. Saada maintained that his focus is the commercial survival of the group in France, where Canal+ recently backed six titles screened at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival, including Quentin Dupieux's "Full Phil" and Jeanne Herry's "Garance".