Allegations of sexual abuse rock French cinema, two filmmakers arrested

PARIS:

French authorities on Monday arrested two leading arthouse film directors, Benoit Jacquot and Jacques Doillon, for questioning over sexual abuse allegations, as the #MeToo revival rocked the French film industry.

Their inquiries into the alleged abuse, some of which date back to the 1980s and all of which they deny, come as campaigners say French cinema has provided coverage for the abuse for too long. One AFP reporter saw Jacquot, 77, and Doillon, 80, arrive at a Paris police station on Monday morning accompanied by their lawyers. Judicial sources said they could be held until Tuesday night and possibly questioned in the presence of their accusers.

Judith Godreche, a 52-year-old actress and director, has formally accused Jacquot of rape and Doillon of sexually assaulting her as a minor, which both men deny. She has described Jacquot as having an unhealthy “hold” on her during a “perverted” relationship with him that began when she was 14, from 1986 to 1992. And she has accused Doillon of “putting his fingers under my underwear’ during a screen test for one of his films when he was 15 and still with Jacquot.

Several other actors have also filed complaints against both men. Isild Le Besco, 41, alleged that Jacquot raped her between 1998 and 2007 during a relationship that began when she was 16 and he was 52. Le Besco also alleged that Doillon made advances during work, while actress Anna Mouglalis claimed that the director was violent. he kissed her in 2011.

Julia Roy, a 34-year-old actor who has appeared in many of his films, accused him of sexual assault in “a context of violence and moral restraint that spanned several years,” a source close to the case said.

Sources close to the case said their questioning could last until late Tuesday and include a confrontation with their accusers.

‘I’m crying’

Lawyers for the managers said they did not need to be detained for questioning and should be presumed innocent until proven guilty. Jacquot’s attorney, Julia Minkowski, said her client “will finally be able to speak before the law,” denouncing what she called the “unacceptable excesses” of media coverage of the case.

Doillon’s lawyer, Marie Dose, said no legal criteria could justify his being detained for questioning “36 years” after the incident Godreche claimed and he could have answered questions without being detained. The prosecutor’s office confirmed the detention of the two men, but added that both are presumed innocent for now.

Godreche on Instagram said she was deeply moved. “I’m crying,” she wrote. “I don’t know if I have the strength, but I will. I will have it… For her,” she wrote, posting a photo of her teenage self next to Jacquot, 25 years her senior. Her attorney, Laure Heinich, declined to comment.

Since breaking her silence, Godreche has become a leading voice in France’s #MeToo movement. After calling for a film watchdog, French lawmakers voted in May to create a commission to investigate sexual and gender-based violence in the film industry and other cultural sectors.

The head of France’s top film institution, Dominique Boutonnat, resigned on Friday after being convicted of sexually assaulting his godfather in 2020. Boutonnat was sentenced to three years in prison, two of which were suspended. He will be able to serve his one-year sentence at home wearing an electronic bracelet.

And film legend Gerard Depardieu, 75, will stand trial in October for sexually assaulting two women. He also faces a second trial after being charged in 2020 with raping an actress in 2018 when she was 22. He denies all the allegations.

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