The Morgane Group will be the showrunner for a renewed comics festival in Angoulême. As disclosed today by the Association for the Development of Comics in Angoulême (ADBDA) Morgane was picked from the four names who had thrown their hat in the ring at the conclusion of the open call launched in January. Morgane will be showrunner on a five year contract. Although the contract requires an event be held sometime in the first quarter of 2027, it is unclear if the Morgane group can realistically manage a full festival in that time – nor whether they will be allowed to do so.
The Morgane group was picked over three other regional and international candidates, which included A Bord, an arts and music festival organiser based in Bordeaux; Côte Ouest, the events arm of the Sud Ouest press group (owners of local newspaper Charente Libre), and Italian organiser of Comicon Napoli, Visiona.
Based in Boulogne-Billancourt, the Morgane Group has a background in audiovisual production, its events arm – which cut its teeth on concerts and music festivals – diversified to cover other events that include a significant audiovisual component. Their bid was headed by former 9e Art+ employee Céline Bagot, alongside comics marketing and publishing insider Marie Parisot. Céline Bagot worked at 9e Art+ between 2016 and 2019, serving in various roles including marketing manager and general coordinator. Following her departure from the company she became the founder of up-and-coming calendar event Pop Women Festival, which highlights female creativity across the arts. The Morgane Group also has some prior contact with the world of French comics (bande dessinée) as it is the production company behind the France.tv show Concillabule, which is hosted by cartoonist Pénélope Bagieu.
In a statement seen by Charene Libre, the ADBDA said [translated via DeepL]:
“The project presented by Morgane meets the expectations expressed by professional stakeholders […] and by the public partners within the ADBDA for an event that rises to the challenges currently facing the industry: in terms of artistic direction, representation of the diversity of aesthetic styles in comics, organization of awards, international scope, as well as offerings in arts and cultural education and inclusion of all audiences”
“Particular attention has been paid to the central role of creators, the representation of all their professions, and professional support for young talent…The future organizer had to demonstrate its financial capacity and ability to self-fund, as well as the ethical standards and social responsibility it will uphold in all its practices.”
Although a new organiser has been found, there is no guarantee a festival could take place in 2027. Partly because of the shortened timescale – many aspects of the previous festival were planned more than a year in advance, and successful candidates were theoretically allowed around two years to prepare (this was never put into practice as festival organiser 9e Art+ never lost the contract renewal bidding process overseen by Association FIBD).
A further problem comes in the court battle that has now been delayed twice. The face off between the original AngoulêmeFestival copyright owner Association FIBD and the organiser 9e Art+ with the ADBDA was originally set to take place on March 18. The ADBDA has deferred it to April 15, and now it is rescheduled to May 20. Originally intending to halt the open call process, the Association FIBD and 9e Art+’s lawyer Élodie Dujon threatened last week that the new festival organiser could be included in the suit, which has claimed the ADBDA’s efforts to build a new comics festival in Angoulême is ‘unfair competition’ and ‘reputational parasitism’. They also demand a minimum of €300,000 compensation for damages incurred by the collapse of the festival last year.
The ADBDA is comprised of stakeholding bodies for pretty much the entire French comics industry, with groups representing major and independent publishers, several authors unions, public funders (local, regional, national) bodies and local representatives. It was first created as a mediation body for the original Angoulême International Comics Festival (FIBD). During the crisis that engulfed the festival in November 2025, where talks between the entire industry and the festival owning Association FIBD broke down over the de facto reinstatement of wildly unpopular 9e Art+ and its owner Franck Bondoux. Whenever a scandal occurred at Angoulême Festival, 9e Art+ wasn’t far from either its cause or making matters worse. A major exposé in Humanité magazine in January 2025 revealed a series of issues with the company, including financial irregularities, employee burnout, but most seriously was an alleged rape of a staffer at a festival who was immediately fired after disclosing it.
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