During the 2026 Cannes Film Festival, the European Audiovisual Observatory (EAO) organized a panel discussion on fiscal incentives and cash rebates as instruments for public film financing. Film analyst Elisa Joliveau-Breney outlined three market developments: cinema attendance is 26% below pre-pandemic levels, only SVoD is growing while traditional broadcasters are under pressure, and films are increasingly competing with shorter online content. Selective financing still dominates with 65% of public funds, while automatic financing is growing faster. Sophie Valais emphasized that incentives, which began in Europe with Ireland’s Section 481 in 1999, never operate in isolation but combine cultural and economic objectives, with thresholds and eligibility rules varying significantly by country.

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