Tensions are rising between Canal+ and the government. As the executive prepares its 2027 budget, Maxime Saada is openly opposing plans to scrap the reduced VAT rate applied to pay television. The Canal+ boss calls the measure "political" and "absurd", and estimates it would mean an additional cost of around €200 million a year for his group.
The increase in VAT from 10% to 20% could, in his view, lead to higher subscription prices, but also to internal cost-cutting and job losses.
"We cannot absorb €200 million", the chief executive essentially argues, warning that Canal+ will have to rein in its spending.
Cinema used as leverage
Canal+ plays a pivotal role in financing French cinema. In 2025, the group invested €155.6 million in French films and helped fund 148 productions. It thus accounts for almost half of the investments made by traditional private broadcasters. Any reduction in its spending could therefore have a direct impact on production.
This is precisely where the threat is being felt. Canal+ is required to invest €980 million in French and European cinema between 2028 and 2032. But Maxime Saada warns that if VAT is doubled, these commitments could be revised downwards. He even raises the prospect of financing "perhaps three-quarters fewer films".
The showdown comes against a backdrop of already heightened tensions around Canal+. In May, Saada announced that the group no longer wished to work with the signatories of an opinion piece criticising Vincent Bolloré’s influence. The Ligue des droits de l’homme and the CGT-Spectacle have since taken legal action, denouncing what they see as discrimination based on political views.
With its 2027 budget, the government is seeking to bring the public deficit down from 5.4% to 5% of GDP. Raising VAT on Canal+ is part of this drive to secure extra revenue, but it opens up a new front with a media group determined to defend its profit margins and its role in French cultural production.
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