France plans tax breaks for big Hollywood films

PARIS (Reuters) - France is ready to offer tax breaks to attract big-budget Hollywood productions as a way to boost the economy, the culture minister said on Wednesday.

Christine Albanel told Le Monde newspaper she wanted France to be more attractive to U.S. blockbusters that stimulate technical jobs and tourism, and help a sector under increasing pressure.

"The big films shot in 2005 like 'Marie Antoinette,' by Sofia Coppola, 'The Da Vinci Code' or 'A Good Year,' by Ridley Scott, were life-savers," she said.

Other European countries, such as Britain and Germany, have been offering incentives to draw in major U.S. studios, and Albanel said it was time for France to do likewise.

"The idea is to bring back these Hollywood films shot elsewhere today, but without opening the floodgates to all projects." She said she would push for the government to include an international tax rebate in the 2009 budget.

France is one of the world's top film-producing countries and considers itself a natural home to cinema, but some industry groups see clouds on the horizon despite recent domestic successes.

Although an elaborate national subsidy network has long helped underwrite French art-house cinema, a report this year said mid-budget films were at risk of falling through cracks in the system.

Albanel said aiding such films also were a priority for her ministry.

Reuters/Nielsen