French Audiovisual Creation: What the 2025 “Journée de la Création” Reveals
On May 27, 2025, the SACEM auditorium hosted the “Journée de la Création,” organized by the Festival de la Fiction. This event, focused on French audiovisual creation, brought together field accounts, diagnoses, and institutional contradictions. The official title looked ahead — but what was said spoke about the present.
A start without illusions
Sophie Révil (producer, Escazal Films) and Marjorie Paillon (journalist) opened the event. They laid out the premise: what threatens French creation is structural. Not just global competition or AI, but the erosion of writers’ roles in production processes.
Several voices spoke out early on to highlight a common reality: decisions are made without authors. Writers often work blind — no data, no feedback. They’re invited to the results table, rarely to the decision-making one.
French audiovisual creation and the strained model of cultural exception
Martin Ajdari (Arcom), Delphine Ernotte Cunci (France Télévisions, EBU), Rodolphe Belmer (TF1, LaFA), Mathilde Fiquet (CEPI), David El Sayegh (SACEM), and Pascal Rogard (SACD) defended the European model. They discussed regulation, quotas, investment obligations. But not the real editorial trade-offs.
One screenwriter noted: “They talk about us a lot. They rarely give us space.” Public service is upheld rhetorically, but its internal editorial logic is rarely challenged. The French model stands stronger in discourse than in reality.
Data and opacity: writing in the fog
Julien Rosanvallon (Médiamétrie) spoke about fragmented viewing habits. Antoine Boilley (Arcom) and Tiphaine de Raguenel (France Télévisions) described strategic adjustments. But authors remain in the dark — they have no access to data on their own work. One writer said: “We’re asked to anticipate expectations we’re not allowed to see.”
Decisions are based on guesswork, not facts. Writing happens without guidance, feedback, or grounding.
Formatting and self-censorship
Testimonies followed one another. Anger, conflict, religion, politics — these elements are removed from the first draft. Self-censorship is baked in. One writer spoke of “narrative conformity.” Another summed it up: “We don’t pitch stories anymore. We submit content.”
Diversity is often invoked but rarely examined. “We tick boxes. We don’t explore.”
AI as a writing partner
The PROMPT project (Christilla Huillard-Kann, Marianne Levy-Leblond) explored generative AI as a creative tool. But the debate revealed anxiety. Simon Bouisson, David Defendi, Paul Sabin, and Tariq Krim stressed that such tools only make sense within a controlled creative process. “AI is useful if you already know what you want to say. Otherwise, it generates empty noise.”
The audience was divided. The tool fascinates, but doesn’t replace process — it frames it.
Exporting French audiovisual creation without losing its roots
Two cases stood out: *Bref.2* (My Box Prod, Disney+) and *Astrid et Raphaëlle* (France TV). Both succeeded, but the push for international sales leads to simplification. A common phrase: “To exist abroad, you must be legible.” But at what cost? Several writers noted that formatting begins at the writing stage. The “universal” becomes a constraint, not a strength.
Gaétan Bruel: Making what doesn’t yet exist
The president of the CNC closed the day. He spoke of the right to fail, to try, to be fragile. He offered no measure, but a stance: “The CNC must serve to make what doesn’t yet exist come to life.” Not to optimize, but to enable. Not to follow, but to open.
Conclusion: Defending French audiovisual creation beyond discourse
What was said on May 27 wasn’t analysis — it marked a rupture. One word echoed throughout: imbalance.
An imbalance between the visibility of authors and their actual role.
