Third largest producer in the world, second largest exporter: while French animation shines through its excellence, it is going through a major structural crisis. On 7 January, industry heavyweights, including Franck Petitta, founder and director of École Méliès, alerted the Senate to the urgent need for action.
The list of guests at the Palais du Luxembourg testifies to the gravity of the situation. Alongside Samuel Kaminka, president of the AnimFrance union, were emblematic figures such as Marc du Pontavice, chief executive of Xilam and producer of Oggy and the Cockroaches, Hervé Dupont, deputy chief executive of Fortiche Production and producer of Arcane, and Valérie Moati, general director of Gobelins Paris.
The verdict is undeniable: despite critical success, the sector is suffering a 16 % drop in hours worked. A brutal fall caused by the withdrawal of investment from American platforms and the migration of audiences to YouTube, which captures value without funding creation.
Vital demands for survival
Facing the Committee on Culture chaired by Laurent Lafon, industry players insisted that the French model, built on public and private co-construction, is in danger. The dependence on France Télévisions, which accounts for half of the industry's orders, makes every budgetary decision critical.
Producers are notably calling for an urgent reform of the tax credit, whose cap, dating from 2005, has become obsolete in the face of the production costs of the premium works that drive the country's international reputation.
Training and AI: Franck Petitta's warning
At the heart of these economic stakes, Franck Petitta carried the voice of the next generation. While artificial intelligence raises concerns for its capacity to scrape protected works on a massive scale without authorisation, he insisted on the risk of seeing AI replace craftsmanship, directly threatening the professional prospects of young graduates.
The younger generations are in complete uncertainty about their future. The turmoil they find themselves in today touches me particularly.
Echoing his counterparts' observations, he argued for training that puts creators before mere operators. For Franck Petitta, the challenge is to preserve an artisanal intelligence in the face of automation, so that students remain creators who master their tools, and not the other way around.
The recording is hosted on videos.senat.fr. Playing it loads the Senate's own page.
This roundtable shed light on the fragility of a sector that is nevertheless strategic for French soft power. It remains to be seen whether this call for help will be followed by concrete legislative effects.
