Angoulême (AFP)

A great annual meeting for lovers of the 9th Art, the 47th edition of the Angoulême Festival will mark, from Thursday, the official launch of the year of comics on a background of concern for designers and scriptwriters who are struggling to live of their boards.

As the Minister of Culture, Franck Riester, expected in Angoulême, says on Thursday, "France loves the 9th Art!". As a sign of this interest, Emmanuel Macron is also expected on Thursday and has notably planned to have lunch with authors. The last visit of a head of state to the Angoulême festival dates back to 1985 with François Mitterrand.

To try to allay a concern which could turn into anger - several professional organizations including the Syndicate of authors (Snac BD) invited the authors present in Angoulême to "put their pencils" on Friday -, the Ministry of Culture has just returned public the report commissioned a year ago from Bruno Racine.

Noting that "the State cannot attend without reacting to the impoverishment of artist authors", the report lists 23 recommendations aimed at improving and clarifying the disastrous situation of comic book authors.

The situation is paradoxical. On the one hand, the figures for the sector make you dizzy: a turnover of 276.2 million euros and nearly 44 million albums sold in 2018. On the other, the situation of designers and screenwriters BD continues to deteriorate.

53% of comic strip authors live on less than the minimum wage, more than a third live below the poverty line. Women are even worse off: 50% of women authors live below the poverty line. Authors' access to social rights is not always guaranteed.

- "Not everything is rosy" -

Franck Riester will make known the proposals he accepts from the Racine report during the first half of February.

"This report is a real paradigm shift," welcomed the League of professional authors, which brings together many comic book authors. "It will now be necessary for this report to be followed by facts, concrete," added the association.

"I would not want to break the mood but the Racine report is a + report +, an opinion, recommendations. This in no way prejudges what the government and the SNE will do with it", tempers the designer Cyril Pedrosa (" Golden age").

The SNE, professional publishers' union, did not comment on Bruno Racine's report.

If one recognizes readily on the side of the editors that the economic and social situation of the authors is "difficult and precarious for many of them", not question for as much legislating, indicated the president of the SNE, Vincent Montagne, during the recent union vows ceremony.

"The temptation is great to turn to the State and the public authorities to legislate ... always legislate, legislate to better normalize", deplored Mr. Montagne, also president of Media-Participations (Dargaud, Dupuis, Le Lombard , Urban Comics, Kana ...), European leader in comics.

"Everything is not rosy in the land of comics," admits Franck Bondoux, general delegate of the festival who nevertheless intends to make this event a celebration.

Some 2,000 authors are expected in Angoulême until February 2. Numerous exhibitions including, for the first time in France, a retrospective dedicated to the American Robert Kirkman, creator of the Walking Dead series, will be presented to the public. First comic strip designer appointed to the Academy of Fine Arts, Catherine Meurisse (also in the running for the Grand Prix d'Angoulême) will also be entitled to a large exhibition.

The full festival program is on the bdangouleme.com site and all of the events for 2020, the year of the comic strip are on the bd2020.culture.gouv.fr site.

The Fauve d'or, a coveted prize awarded to the best album of the year, will be awarded on Saturday evening, with 43 albums in the running.

Beyond Angoulême, the festival invited all French people to take a break, Thursday at 1 p.m., to read the comic strip of their choice.

© 2020 AFP