Editor's note: Caroline Sekan is an assistant professor of history at Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania, where her research focuses on gender, race, sexuality, and immigration in modern France and the French Empire. She is the author of the forthcoming book Desire of Whiteness: A Racial History of Prostitution in France and Colonial Senegal, 1848-1950. Follow her on X (formerly Twitter) @carolinevsequi. The views expressed in this comment are her own. Read more opinion pieces on CNN.
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France has no greater movie star than Gerard Depardieu. He is not just a prominent figure in French culture, both in his home country and mine. In the eyes of many, he is nothing short of a national treasure.
Provided by Caroline Sequin
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Since making his acting debut in 1965 at the age of 17, Depardieu, 75, has appeared in more than 200 films. In 1996, he was awarded France's highest honor, the Légion d'Honneur, by then-President Jacques Chirac.
But Depardieu's prominent status in France has only amplified the controversy surrounding accusations by more than 20 women that Depardieu committed a catalog of decades-old sex crimes, including rape, sexual assault, and sexual harassment. was.
Accusations have swirled around Mr. Depardieu for years. In 2018, when the #MeToo movement was in full swing, whistleblowers came forward. In 2020, another alleged victim came forward to accuse Depardieu of raping her, and a formal investigation was launched, the outcome of which has not yet been determined.
Last week, the French film legend was indicted on two criminal charges for alleged sexual assault committed in September 2021 while filming the film Les Volets verts, or The Green Shutters. He was formally charged. A trial date was set for October.
Since then, further allegations of sexual misconduct have been made. An April 2023 investigation by French independent newspaper Mediaparte found that 13 women accused Depardieu of raping and sexually assaulting them on the sets of various films he was filming between 2004 and 2022. It is reported that a complaint has been filed. In July, public television station France 2 broadcast a documentary. In “Depardieu: The Fall of the Demon'', the actor was shown on video making lewd comments to and about women, and even making overtly sexual comments to a 10-year-old girl.
Mr. Depardieu denies the allegations of sexual misconduct. In a letter published in the conservative newspaper Le Figaro in October 2023, she said he had never harmed women and had no intention of doing so in the future. “Hurting a woman is like kicking your own mother in the stomach,” he wrote.
In the United States, high-profile men accused of sexual misconduct sometimes suffer career blows and lose their positions of power and influence, at least temporarily, although some bounce back professionally. Sometimes, encouragingly, their positions are filled by women.
Except in a few cases, that has not proven to be the case in France. Women still find that they have to pay a price in their careers when they come forward and are sometimes dismissed as untrustworthy or vindictive with an agenda of ousting those in power. .
In Depardieu's case, it's not entirely clear, at least for now, whether the decades-long allegations have hurt him professionally. Far from being “cancelled,” Depardieu continued to work prolifically in the film industry. Since his first formal charges were filed in 2018, he has appeared in more than a dozen films and three miniseries.
And despite decades of innuendo and notoriety, Mr. Depardieu continues to enjoy significant public support from influential figures in film and politics, most notably French President Emmanuel. Macron has so far resisted calls to strip Depardieu of his job. Legion of Honor.
“I am a big fan of Gerard Depardieu. He is a great actor and an artistic genius. He made France known to the whole world. And I say this as president and as a citizen. But he is proud of France,” Macron said in a television interview in December.
That same month, dozens of leading French public figures published an open letter in the newspaper Le Le Figaro expressing their unconditional support for Depardieu and condemning what they called a public “lynching” of him. Signatories included actress and model Carla Bruni, wife of former French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
As Americans try to make sense of the overturning of movie mogul Harvey Weinstein's conviction last month, #MeToo has given new credibility to the voices of women accusing sexual abuse in the workplace. You may be asking yourself questions about the permanence of the progress made within the movement. Meanwhile, in France, the backlash against efforts to prosecute Depardieu has disappointed many women who had hoped for major progress on sexual violence as a result of #MeToo.
Detractors of the #MeToo movement seem to be concerned that French women are using the media as a platform to spread false accusations of sexual violence against men, raising their profile and It's damaging your reputation and your career. But the reality is quite different, with victims facing skepticism, online backlash, and harassment. “In France, if a woman speaks up, she is considered a liar or hysterical,'' said Sandra Muller, a well-known French journalist. In some cases, their safety may even be threatened.
Fears about false accusations are almost always exaggerated because false accusations are incredibly rare. It's also because most men accused of inappropriate sexual conduct go on to live their lives — as does Depardieu, who continued to act on screen despite the accusations swirling around him.
Other criticisms of the #MeToo movement point to something quintessentially French that was in danger of being lost. In 2018, newspaper Le Monde published an open letter signed by 100 prominent women, including French actress Catherine Deneuve, denouncing the emerging #MeToo movement and calling for men's “freedom to annoy,” ie. He championed the right of men to come out without being asked. Unnecessary compliments etc.
These celebrities actually disparaged those who demanded that women be treated with respect and be free from abuse, and supported men's right to continue making unwanted advances. “Persistent or clumsy flirtation is not a crime, and acts of bravery are not xenophobic attacks,” the letter said.
However, this is not to say that the #MeToo movement has not had an impact on France. For example, it has irrevocably changed the way French media responds to sexual violence against women. In just the past few years, French news coverage has become significantly more politicized, with more and more sexual assault accusations being investigated and reported on in a way that would have been unthinkable a decade ago. As a result, survivors of sexual violence often say they feel less isolated than before.
Mr. Depardieu has not yet been tried, so it is by no means certain that he will be convicted of the crimes he is accused of. He appears to be at least guilty of treating women badly and is accused of committing criminal acts against them. American heavyweights were canceled at much lower rates.
France may not be as advanced in listening to female sexual assault survivors, but that doesn't mean the #MeToo movement isn't having an impact. It irrevocably changed the media response to sexual violence against women.
Another positive effect of #MeToo in France is seen in the sharp rise in the number of rape, sexual assault, and sexual harassment complaints reported to the police. In her 2023 book, Fixing France: How to Repair a Broken Republic, Nabila Ramdani uses figures released by the French Ministry of the Interior to show that 75,800 complaints were filed in 2021, compared to the previous year. It claims that it has increased by 33% compared to the previous year.
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Perhaps the #MeToo movement's detractors have a point. The thousands of men accused of sexual assault are not the monsters they claim to be in the media and in public. Rather, these people are manifestations of our own monstrous cultural constructs. They are our politicians, professors, doctors, actors, writers, TV hosts, professional chefs, and athletes.
They are also our fathers, brothers, uncles, cousins, and nephews, and #MeToo took hold in 2020 with the publication of Camille Kushner's incest book, La Familia Grande. This is a once taboo topic that has recently gained attention in France. MeTooInceste (#MeTooIncest) on social media. Colleagues, neighbors, and blood relatives, all of whom are often able to maintain their status and professional privileges despite allegations of sexual violence.
It remains unclear whether the French government will ultimately “cancel” Gerard Depardieu, even if he is found guilty of sexual assault in one or both trials. But until our laws adequately punish perpetrators of sexual violence, too many victims will continue to be traumatized by a pervasive rape culture and will continue to be challenged by all segments of society. There will be far too many perpetrators who continue their acts unchecked.
