Média – Participations:

Brief us about Média-Participations and how it has transformed with time?

Média-Participations is a leading European publishing and entertainment group for over 40 years, building bridges across comics, books, animation, gaming, and theme parks. Cross-media exchanges have always been part of our strategy. Today, digital transformation is accelerating this journey and driving our international expansion, while we stay true to our mission of creating stories for families, stories that reflect their interests and passions.

Under your leadership, the group has expanded into publishing, audio-visual, animation, and digital production. How would you qualify the relationship between these domains?

They all share one foundation: storytelling. Publishing is our starting point, but each format enriches the others and reaches new audiences. Rebooting content as IPs gives stories a second life and yes, cross-media interactions are growing every day.

What, in your view, is the secret to creating characters and story universes that are relevant across countries and generations?

Marsupilami is a great example of what we aim to do. It’s a French best-seller IP and a cultural icon that speaks to everyone. For over 10 years, we’ve been reinventing this beloved character and pushing it internationally. Our goal is simple: respect its heritage while evolving it for new generations through fresh narratives, technology, and platforms and having an animal as the hero is a powerful way to connect with audiences everywhere.

India has almost no IPs that have made it to the international stage. What would be your advice to India content creators?

India has everything it takes to create global IPs: rich stories, diverse cultures, and a new generation of creators and audiences. IPs may not yet be a full trend, but the potential is real and growing, especially via animation. My advice is to give new generations the chance to reimagine stories across publishing, animation, gaming, and digital. And we at Média-Participations would also love to be part of that journey.

Média Participations owns several comics publishers making it the first European group for comics. Are French-Belgian comics doing well in India?

Tintin and Asterix have been loved in India for decades, and we’re now seeing a renewed interest in comics overall. At Média-Participations, we’ve already taken our first steps into the market, and we believe this is just the beginning. Our goal is to accompany creators and readers: listening, understanding local trends, and introducing titles that truly resonate.

Besides comics, what kind of collaborations does Média Participation have in India?

We’ve had collaborations in India in many different areas like publishing, animation and gaming. Thanks to Abrams Books, Média-Participations’ subsidiary based in New York, we collaborate with major partners such as Penguin for one of our best seller Diary of a Wimpy Kid. We have been working with animation studios, and today, we also have a growing digital presence with webtoon series and the diffusion of cartoons and animations, while actively exploring new opportunities across the creative industry.

How do you see France’s approach to intellectual property evolving, especially compared with other European markets?

Respect for intellectual property is, and will continue to be, a crucial issue — it’s fundamental to maintaining a vibrant publishing ecosystem. This is especially true in the age of generative AI: copyright must be respected, and the unauthorized exploitation of protected works simply has to stop.

At the same time, it’s important to support authors as they explore ways to expand their creations beyond their initial medium. Today, an intellectual property can’t be restricted to just one format if we want it to reach new heights. This also means that authors need to recognize that their characters can outgrow them, and be open to others adapting and developing their work across new media.

You are also the president of the French Publishers Association since 2012. What are the major challenges French publishers are facing?

We are experiencing a time of both economic and cultural vulnerability, brought on by several factors. First, there’s a decline in reading in favour of screen time – a trend that doesn’t only affect young people, but is actually widespread across all generations. Second, there’s a troubling surge in the second-hand book market, propelled by economic pressures, which is happening at the expense of creative output and editorial diversity. And finally, there’s the advent of artificial intelligence, which encapsulates both the hopes and the dangers of our era. The darker side of AI is already apparent in the proliferation of fake books – content with no editorial value, mass-produced in a few prompts by AI systems fuelled by the unauthorized use of copyrighted works. We cannot stand by and do nothing in the face of these abuses; that’s why we have taken legal action against Meta in the French courts. That being said, I also see AI as an opportunity – provided it is properly regulated, transparent, and remains respectful of copyright. Above all, I believe in the resilience of books: throughout all the technological revolutions of the past centuries, books have never disappeared. More broadly, the written word will always be at the very heart of every creative process.

What does the future of storytelling look like to you?

Looking ahead, storytelling will keep evolving with technology, but the book will remain at its core. Digital formats and audio will continue to grow, yet nothing can replace the depth and freedom that reading offers. When television and radio arrived, many predicted the end of books. But one medium never eliminates another, it adds to the experience. Each new format enriches the way we tell stories, but there’s no need to fear the end of books. They endure because they offer something timeless.

Vincent Montagne is the Chairman of Média-Participations, one of the leading French-language publishing groups (the third largest in France and leader in Belgium). The company is a major European player in comic books, featuring well-known brands like Dargaud, Dupuis, Le Lombard, and Kana (manga). In addition to comics, Média-Participations also publish literature and illustrated books through renowned imprints such as Le Seuil, La Martinière, Fleurus, Mame, and L’Olivier. He has also been President of the French Publishers association (SNE) since June 2012.