CANNES, France (Reuters) – A Spanish film launched the Cannes film
festival for the first time on Wednesday, as organizers heaved sighs of
relief that the threat of labor protests raining on the Riviera glamour
parade has been averted.
On Tuesday they reached a last-ditch deal with stagehands and part-time
French actors who had planned to disrupt the event in pursuit of a
pensions deal.
The workers will now be welcomed on Wednesday night’s official
opening in the Palais des Festivals and allowed to hold news
conferences to air their grievances.
Ahead of the opening, the world’s press were shown cult Spanish
director Pedro Almodovar’s “Bad Education,” a noirish thriller about
child abuse in the Catholic church.