As she accepted the Palme d'Or award at the Cannes Film Festival for her movie 'Anatomie d'une Chute' last weekend, director Justine Triet warned about the growing threats to the cinema industry in France. She said the French government was too indulgent towards American streaming platforms, state support for the film sector was drying up, while cinema audiences are down. The government and its supporters quickly hit back, accusing her of 'ingratitude', as her own film received public grants. But in using her acceptance speech to attack what she sees as a neoliberal assault on France's cinematographic 'cultural exception', Justine Triet was aiming at the right target, says Mediapart's Mathias Thépot. Here he analyses the challenges facing one of France's cultural crown jewels.
