03/07/2003

The French entertainment industry workers’ protest is gaining momentum. Today’s national newspapers published a petition signed by 200 leading personalities, asking the French prime minister, Jean-Pierre Raffarin, to renegotiate the reform of the technical workers’ and artists’ statute.

The film industry was particularly well represented by stars like Isabelle Adjani, Claire Denis, Catherine Breillat, Agnès Jaoui, Zabou Breitman, Bertrand Blier, Jeanne Balibar, Catherine Deneuve, Arnaud Desplechin, Antoine de Caunes, Elsa Zylberstein, José Garcia, Patrice Leconte, Claude Brasseur, Dominique Blanc, Mathieu Amalric, Charles Berling, Samy Frey, Bruno Podalydès, Claude Miller, Laetitia Masson, Christophe Ruggia, Jean-Paul Salomé, Romane Bohringer, Laurent Bouhnik, Isabelle Carré, oltre a professionisti come il produttore Pascal Caucheteux (Why Not Productions), producer and distributor Fabienne Vonier (Pyramide) and Michel Reilhac, the head of Arte Cinéma.

The petition was also signed by leading exponents of every sector of the entertainment industry who protested the prime minister’s having called them "lazy" and "irresponsible". They countered these accusations by describing themselves as "passionate workers at the service of creativity, eager to contribute to the cultural splendour of France as true professionals". The petition continues: "An artist is not an unemployed person if he or she works sporadically. We consider not being able to act or work as a sort of death.” The solidarity of this protest indicates that it will continue for a long time because "for most of us, this is a question of survival. Almost 35 per cent of professionals will simply be excluded, and we are talking about the weakest individuals."

(Translated from French)