publishers Dargaud, Dupuis, Le Lombard, Kana and Urban Comics will not attend the festival

Calls for a boycott have grown since the announcement of the renewal of the highly contested historical delegation, 9eArt+, as organizer of the event.

Comic book publishers from the Média Participation group – Dargaud, Dupuis, Le Lombard, Kana and Urban Comics – will not attend the 53rd edition of the Angoulême comic book festival scheduled for January 29 to February 1 2026, Radio France Agency learned on Tuesday, November 11 from Dargaud, confirming information from Libération. After an emergency meeting with public authorities on Monday, the Casterman edition agreed to wait until Monday, November 17 before making a decision, franceinfo.fr learned from Casterman on Tuesday.

Calls for a boycott from writers and criticism from big names in the world of comics have multiplied since the announcement of the renewal of the company, 9eArt+, as organizer of the event. Organizer since 2007, the company was renewed on Saturday following a call for tenders that was criticized for its lack of clarity.

“The Angoulême Comic Festival is in grave danger“, announced on Monday, in a column published in the newspaper l’Humanité, the 22 winners of the Grand Prix, the highest prize of the festival, whose reputation is worldwide.