France-Cartoons annual general assembly held at the “Espace Loup” in Saint-Just le Martel (Haute Vienne) on Saturday October 3rd 2020 at 9.30 a.m.
-Present members : Ballouhey, Barrigue, Beaunez, Biz, Bonfim, Boursier, Caffa, Dauga, Daullé, Delambre, Frémion, Gibo, Ali Hamra, Jancry, Jethro, Kak, Kankr, Marilo, Guy Michel, Moine, Nalair, Oligo, Pesso, Placide, Plop, Raynal, Savignac, Trax, Zeno.
-Represented members : Alf, Dino Aloi, Terry Anderson, Luc Arnault, Babache, Beltramo, Bertin, Honoré Bonnet, Cagle, Gilles Demouveaux, Devo, Fidèle Castor, Gouzil, Gruet, Rainer Hachfeld, Joyeux, Le Celte, Martin Linder, Paula Mertins, Étienne Minault, Marilena Nardi, Noder, Phil, Pijet, Pinter, Pongi, Puglia, Rafagé, Renault, Andy Singer, Sondron, Tym, Vomorin, Wingz.
-Special guests : Chouba, Gillian, Dominique Lemarié, Pascale Velleine.
Moral balance sheet
presented by Pierre Ballouhey, president.
France-Cartoons numbers 150 to 160 members. 141 ones of them have already updated their membership subscription. They come from all the continents. At the beginning they were only French speaking cartoonists then Daryl Cagle decided France-Cartoons was his favorite association so he had all the members of his “Syndicate” join in.
Two very important members in our team, Roger Moffrey and Jepida have gone this year, tributes have been paid to them in the webmag. We came in great number to Jepida’s funerals and Ballouhey delivered a touching speech.
Lots of adherents didn’t make it to come to Saint-Just le Martel and gave their power of decision to the adventurous ones who did come.
Salons and festivals disappearing either momentarily or for a long time, newsstands closing, are all lost opportunities for issuing and promoting books and magazines. The Estaque Fidep in Marseilles will welcome only local cartoonists.
Exhibitions
Here, in Saint-Just le Martel we are holding an exhibition to support the hospital staff. It can also be discovered on our website as well as an exhibition on the French presidents, a tribute to Steve Bell, a cartoonist at “The Guardian”.
“Le Crayon” is still painstakingly shifting around the exhibition we share with them on the environment.
Publications
Last year we edited the “87 dessins pour Gérard” album. The pandemic and confinement slowed down that activity. On the other hand we are very active on the promotion of our fellow cartoonists’ books on the website and the social networks. The collective albums on a precise topic can be thought of as far as the authors would be paid for their work, which implies a healthy budget and financial support applications.
Festivals
Remuneration in the festivals : A single solution has not been found yet, caricaturists on the one hand and press and humor cartoonists on the other hand generating separate problems.
The philosophy of Gérard Vandenbrouck and Saint-Just consists in inviting a large number of artists whose caricatures are offered. This allows young cartoonists to be invited, they wouldn’t be otherwise. The Adagp states that no cartoonist should work without being defrayed but in fact its position on this matter concerns more children books illustrators and comic strips album authors than press cartoonists. There is no possible comparison between Saint-Just le Martel and Angoulême because at Angoulême the publishers support the needs of their authors and the place is but a huge book supermarket. It’s up to the organizers of these cartoonists meetings to decide.
Maison du Dessin de Presse et du Dessin Satirique
Ballouhey for France-Cartoons, Kak for Cartooning for Peace and Frémion have met with Vincent Monadé who has to report on the project by the beginning of October.
Vincent Monadé and Ballouhey as well, are convinced that this house must be located in Saint-Just which is closely related to Limoges. Nevertheless, it seems that
this project, originating at the Élysée, will be settled by the Élysée according to political considerations.
The fluency of the connection is to be taken into account. Bordeaux is no more a candidate, Saint-Just with Limoges, Paris and Strasbourg are remaining. The
funding would come from the state, the “Région” and the town hall. As for Saint-Just, Ballouhey has written on that purpose
to the “Ministre de la Culture” and lots of France-Cartoons members sent a word too. He has asked the minister to grant the formalization of the member card as a pass for free entry at the national museums.
Support
Actions for supporting the cartoonists persecuted in their countries.
This year it’s our friend Emad Hajjaj from Jordan who has been imprisoned and then released but he is still under the threat of a trial and heavy penalties. We have initiated a support page on our website and opened a file in the webmag.
Marc Large’s collaboration with “Sud-Ouest” was abruptly interrupted after 13 years because he claimed a contract that would end up the precariousness of his freelance position, just when, at the same time, the newspaper was publishing a special number on the freedom of speech in the context of the trial of the Charlie murderers. The matter has been referred to the “Prud’hommes” court, the Snj, too, brings its support to Marc Large. We have collected more than 90 signatures in a registered letter sent to the editor with reception notification. If the answer doesn’t come soon it will be publicly disclosed. As for an immediate publication, we must know that Large’s lawyer advised him to disappear from the social networks for a while. Other cases of unceremonious breaks have been recalled especially Dominique Lemarié’s.
In an answer of the “Sud-Ouest” staff sent to the Snj, lots of obvious contradictions were to be found.
France-Cartoons web site
The website is entering a new era and the decision has been taken to order the reconstruction of our website from a professional operator outside our association which implies he will be remunerated. Franck Raynal gave his advice for the Ablink firm to do the job. They work together and this makes us more confident. The first tests are going to be submitted to us this month. It’s a lot of money, we are wealthy enough especially since we have obtained a 1000 € grant from the Isère “departement”, we thank them very much. Why the Isère “departement”? Because the head office of our association is there, where the president belongs. Later on, we will be able to apply for grants from The “Nouvelle Aquitaine region” since the “Maison du Dessin de Presse et du Dessin Satirique” is most likely to be located there.
The pictures will be larger, the records greater and everybody’s ownership will become much easier. The cartoonists, men and women, will be asked to be more present. A permanent actualization will provide an important output and an appropriate registration. Pesso is ready to put on line whatever we send to him. The 15 interviews or so made in Saint-Just are proposed to be uploaded.
The front page must tell immediately who we are and what we do.
NB : Another meeting took place on the next day at 11 a.m, Ballouhey, Pesso, Franck
Raynal, Jancry, Caffa and Trax were present. Another report, a more precise one is likely to come forth.
Final cost : 4500 €
Financial balance sheet
Expense : 3 643,97 €
– Adobe software for Babache for the Webmag : 215,94 €
– Schmitz & Gofflot members cards printing : 178,03 €
– AB link for the web site : 3 250,00 €
– Ballouhey’s travel to Paris to met Vincent Monadé
– « 87 dessins pour Gérard » album: 500.00 €
Membership fees : 3800,00 €
Support : We must be grateful to Genny who offered 200 € to the association with her 2020 subscription.
A 1000 € grant from the Isère « département » for the web site reconstruction. The president, Jean-Pierre Barbier would like us to mention the Isère « département » with its logo on our website and as a counterpart I’ll ask him to notify our presence in a formal communication.
For personal reasons Tym our dear treasurer won’t stand for a new mandate. We keep in touch with the national SNJ, the government is about to grant an important amount of money to help freelance journalists and cartoonists as well, there will be meetings in Paris and they expect us to attend them.
Elections
President : Ballouhey
Vice president : Battì
Secretaries : Rafagé with the help of Daullé
Treasurers : Jancry, Caffa driven by the great Tym for a year.
WebMasters : Pesso and Franck Raynal
The meeting ended at 12.
A copy is to be sent to the president of the Isère departement.
Pierre Ballouhey
Président de France-Cartoons