Tapis rouge et lutte des classes / Une autre histoire du Festival de Cannes

The Cannes Film Festival, the red carpet, its parade of stars and the crackle of camera flashes… Who could imagine that behind the glittering façade of the most prestigious event in the world of cinema lies a completely different story? To understand it, we must go back to the very origins of the Festival. Initially planned in close cooperation with the United States in 1939 to compete with the Mostra of fascist Italy, its first edition was cancelled by the outbreak of the Second World War and actually took place in 1946, after the conflict. The spirit and hopes of the Liberation can be felt even in the awards, where René Clément’s La Bataille du rail holds a prominent place: an anthem to railway workers’ Resistance, produced by a workers’ cooperative founded by the CGT.