TRIBUNE –

THE NATIONAL CENTER OF CINEMA (CNC) has come under sharp criticism targeting the presence of a streamer judged to be biased in a committee awarding grants to content creators. But we must not discredit an essential institution for the film industry, argues the former general director of the CNC, Christophe Tardieu.

Some accuse the French cinema of being insular, of abusing political correctness, of being self-centered, and perhaps overly subsidized. Maybe. But its success is undeniable, as the French audience flocks to Europe’s largest and most modern cinema complex to see both American blockbusters and more demanding films, from “Avatar” to “Marsupilami,” from “Nuremberg” to “The Bojarski Affair” or “The Rays and the Shadows.”

French cinema is the third largest cinema in the world after the United States and India. Along with audiovisual content, it represents hundreds of thousands of direct jobs in France (studio technicians, post-production, sets, special effects and visuals, digital, etc.). It is a dense industrial fabric spread across the entire territory, generating economic activity with immediate local impact (hospitality, transportation, catering, etc.).