This past week movie theatres throughout France celebrated the annual La Fête du Cinéma – from 3 July through 6 July moviegoers could purchase EUR €4 tickets to current theatrical releases. This year the promotion comes at a moment when cinema attendance is down throughout the country by 25-30% from pre-pandemic levels.

There has been some public pushback on the price of movie tickets in France which average EUR €7.05 but can go as high as EUR €15 during peak times. Richard Patry, President of the National Federation of French Cinemas (FNCF) says less than 19% of moviegoers in France ever pay full price.

“Find me a theater ticket for less than EUR €7 euros. Go to the opera for less than 7 euros,” he said. “If you lower the price of seats, we will no longer have the possibility of investing and building the premier cinemas in the world.”