France's L'ARP Film Meetings Debate Cinema's Future Ahead of Presidential Election

The 36th edition of the Rencontres Cinématographiques de L'ARP opened on 4 November 2026 in Le Touquet-Paris-Plage, running through 6 November and drawing approximately 500 professionals from across the French and European film industry to the Palais des Congrès and the Les 3 As cinema. The event was co-presided by filmmaker Géraldine Nakache and director Stéphane Brizé, who set the tone with the motto 'The risk of listening is hearing.' Six feature films — including works by Nicole Garcia, Dominique Cabrera and Louis-Julien Petit — anchored discussions with their directors. Six themed debates tackled the most pressing questions facing European cinema: the influence of an approaching French presidential election on cultural policy; the financial sustainability of public audiovisual media; AI's impact on creators and copyright; European cultural sovereignty in markets dominated by global streaming platforms; gender parity behind the camera; and freedom of expression. CNC president Gaëtan Bruel was scheduled to deliver a keynote address on 6 November. The gathering underscored the anxiety across French cultural circles about whether French and European works can remain visible in an ecosystem shaped by Netflix, Amazon and other global players.