The Academy of Cinema Arts and Techniques and Canal+ announced in a press release that actress Camille Cottin will preside over the 51st César Awards ceremony. The event will take place on February 27, 2026, at the Olympia Theatre in Paris and will be broadcast live and exclusively on Canal+.
A figure of French and international cinema
Camille Cottin, who rose to fame thanks to the comedy series Connasse on Canal+, quickly established herself as a leading figure in French cinema. Her career then led her to notable international productions, including Stillwater alongside Matt Damon and House of Gucci with Lady Gaga. The actress, also known for her artistic and social activism, embodies a generation of performers capable of navigating between independent films and Hollywood productions.
She succeeds Catherine Deneuve, president of the ceremony in 2025, and Valérie Lemercier, who held this position in 2024. The Academy emphasizes that the choice of Camille Cottin "illustrates the diversity and vitality of contemporary French cinema" , while praising "a free, audacious artist deeply committed to creation".
Benjamin Lavernhe, master of ceremonies
This edition will also be marked by the presence of Benjamin Lavernhe as master of ceremonies. A member of the Comédie-Française and an actor acclaimed for his humor and sensitivity, he will be tasked with hosting the evening.
A momentum to maintain
The ceremony's viewership has been rising slightly since 2023 after several years of decline. The 2025 edition attracted 2,01 million viewers, compared to 1,86 million in 2024 and 1,7 million in 2023. Despite this recovery, the figures remain below the peaks reached in the 2010s, when viewership could exceed 3 million.
One of the challenges for the 2026 edition will be to maintain the momentum of an event that is far less popular with the French than before, and where politics and personal complaints have taken up far too much space, to the detriment of cinema…
