As the glittering Cannes Film Festival continues to attract the biggest names in global cinema, Maltese writer and producer Jean Pierre Magro has offered a less glamorous take on life along the Croisette: the food.

In a sharply worded social media post, Dr Magro described the culinary experience during the festival as “a masterclass in the inverse relationship between price and edible matter.”

“The restaurants, swollen with badge-wearing desperation, serve dishes that taste of invoice rather than intention,” he wrote, before launching into a vivid critique of overpriced salads, lifeless fish dishes and expensive coffee “served with a side of contempt.”

“The pizza is a war crime,” he added bluntly.

Dr Magro argued that during the festival, Cannes becomes less about hospitality and more about capitalising on the thousands of filmmakers, journalists, actors and executives who descend on the French Riviera for the annual celebration of cinema.

“You begin to understand that Cannes does not feed you during the festival,” he wrote. “Instead you are being taxed for the privilege of being geographically close to cinema while eating something that was never loved.”

The comments struck a chord precisely because the Cannes Film Festival is often associated with luxury, exclusivity and glamour. Yet behind the red carpets and designer fashion, festival attendees frequently complain about soaring accommodation prices, overcrowded venues and inflated restaurant bills during the event’s two-week run.

Dr Magro is no stranger to the international film industry. An award-winning writer and producer with a PhD in Transmedia Narratives, he has worked on a number of international productions, including Bulgarian Rhapsody, Blood on the Crown starring Harvey Keitel and Malcolm McDowell, as well as Hounds of War featuring Frank Grillo and Robert Patrick.