With just two weeks to go before this year’s Cannes Film Festival in France, festival workers are reportedly planning to protest and strike in a move that threatens to upstage celebrity red carpet events and the premieres of several highly anticipated movies.
As many as 200 French film festival workers — including Cannes workers and those from other festivals across France — are planning protests at this year’s Cannes festival, according to a Deadline report. Because the French have labor unions for every conceivable profession, no matter how niche, these protests are being organized by a union that represents film festival workers — Sous Les Écrans La Dèche: Collectif Des Précaires Des Festivals De Cinéma.
Protestors plan to hold demonstrations on the Croisette — the main stretch through the city — throughout the 12-day Cannes Film Festival, which kicks off May 14, unnamed sources told Deadline. They will also make their presence known at sidebar events, including the opening ceremonies of the Directors’ Fortnight and La Semaine de la Critique.
Workers are reportedly upset with their compensation, arguing that they aren’t paid a living wage, especially in light of the large amounts of overtime they have to work. They are also unhappy that they don’t qualify for France’s unemployment insurance program for entertainment workers and technicians.
This year’s Cannes will feature the world premiere of Furiosa, the prequel to Mad Max: Fury Road. The festival will also host the highly anticipated premieres of Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis and Kevin Costner’s epic western Horizon: An American Saga.
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