The rules · In France
The rules by type of fiction
Criteria: fiction produced in France, on screen or voice work, excluding extras.
Fiction produced for television
6% of net receiptsSeven days of catch-up on the channel's own platform are included in your fee. Beyond that, if the fiction falls under the television collective agreement, making it available on demand, on a paid or free platform, entitles performers to a supplementary salary of 6% of the producer's net receipts, shared between them as the agreement sets out. Money from the financing plan, such as a platform's pre-purchase, does not count as receipts.
Cinema film (contract signed since 1 December 1990)
2% after recoupmentA sale to a platform counts towards the film's receipts. Once the film's cost is covered, the producer pays 2% of the net receipts that follow, shared between all the film's performers in proportion to their fees.
Original production commissioned by a platform (Netflix, Prime Video…)
Your contractNo collective agreement sets a supplementary payment for first availability, so your pay is negotiated in your contract. You keep the right to claim additional remuneration if it proves disproportionately low (CPI art. L212-3-2).
When?Directly from the producer, based on the accounts it owes you at least once a year. Through Adami, the French collective management organisation for performers, when it handles payment, in July and November, around 6 months after broadcast.
Abroad
You are only paid if the country of broadcast provides for it, by law or by agreement, for example Spain, Italy, Poland, Chile or Colombia (not an exhaustive list). That country's collective management organisation (CMO) collects the money and pays it to you, either directly or through Adami if you are a member and have mandated it for the countries concerned. Allow 1 to 2 years on average between broadcast and any payment.Sources
French TV performers' collective agreement (1992), art. 5.2 and Annex I B arts 7 and 12.1 – CPI art. L212-3-2 – cinema agreement of 17/10/1990 – written question to the National Assembly no. 6964 (2025) – Adami – Spanish, Italian, Polish, Chilean and Colombian law
The steps · Steps, deadlines, documents
What to do, and when
When you sign
Check that your contract provides separate remuneration for online exploitation, especially for a platform production.
Your contractEvery year
Ask the producer for a breakdown of the work's revenue, mode by mode, and for the calculation of your supplementary payments (6% or 2% depending on the case). The law requires the producer to send you this at least once a year, as set by industry agreements or, failing that, by your contract.
Statement of accountsAbroad
Entrust your rights to that country's CMO to be paid faster, or entrust that territory to Adami if you are a member. Allow 1 to 2 years on average between broadcast and any payment.
Your mandateA fee out of all proportion to the receipts?
The law lets you claim additional remuneration when the agreed pay proves “disproportionately low” compared with the revenue earned from the work. This remedy matters most for platform productions, where no agreement sets a supplementary payment.
Your contract and your accounts
Watch outOne lump sum for every mode of exploitation is not enough. For audiovisual works, the law requires separate remuneration for each one (CPI art. L212-4). If your contract does not provide for it, have it corrected before you sign.
Sources
CPI art. L212-3-1 (annual statement of accounts), L212-3-2 (additional remuneration) and L212-4 (separate remuneration for each mode of exploitation) – Annex I B art. 13 – Adami, international rights
Contacts · Who can help
Where to turn?
The producer
Accounts and the calculation of your supplementary payments.CMOs
Adami in France, the CMO of the country concerned abroad. To keep track of the money due to you and of your mandates.SFA-CGT
The French performers' union: contract review and advice. sfa-cgt.frYour agent or a specialist lawyer
Negotiation before signing, requests for revision.Good to know
- Net receipts of a fiction produced for television: what the producer takes in, minus the sales commission (30% at most) and certain costs (copies, promotion, subtitling…). The money that financed the fiction is not included.
- A film's recoupment: reached when the producer's net receipts cover the cost of the film, as approved by the CNC, France's national film and moving image centre.
- Minimums: the 7 days of catch-up included in your fee and the 6% rate are set by the collective agreement. Your contract or an agreement with a channel can provide better.
- Abroad, country by country: for a fiction watched in several countries, this is often the largest and most complex share. Check your mandate for each one.
- If in doubt, ask for a breakdown of the costs deducted and of the recoupment calculation. That is where most disagreements start.
Sources
Annex I B arts 12 and 15 – cinema agreement of 17/10/1990 – protocol on transparency in the cinema sector of 16/12/2010 – French Labour Code art. L2254-1
Could this help a colleague?Share it in one click, on LinkedIn, WhatsApp or by link.
Test yourself on this topic6 questions in Quiz No. 1 are about this publication: extras and neighbouring rights, 7-day catch-up, the 6% supplementary salary, platforms' original productions, selling a film to a platform, broadcasting abroad.
Take the quiz →