On the eve of the Cannes Film Festival, some 600 French film professionals, including acclaimed actors Juliette Binoche, Adèle Haenel, Swann Arlaud and Damien Bonnard, have signed an open letter opposing plans by right-wing billionaire Vincent Bolloré to take full control of UGC, France’s third-largest cinema chain. The letter, published in left-leaning French newspaper Libération, warned that the takeover deal by Bolloré, whose media empire has been accused of promoting reactionary and far-right ideas, would amount to a “fascist takeover of the collective imagination.” Through his media company Vivendi, Bolloré already owns Canal+, France’s largest pay-TV company, and its subsidiary Studiocanal, Europe’s leading film production company. Through Canal+, Bolloré holds a 34 percent stake in the UGC cinema chain, but he has announced plans to take full control of UGC by 2028. Bolloré’s media empire includes CNews, a popular French news channel that figures on the left have attacked for allegedly giving a platform to far-right voices. The film industry backlash against Bolloré follows a protest by more than 100 writers, who last month quit …