'Terrifying' French film abuses report prompts calls for change
A French inquiry into abuses in the entertainment sector was branded as "terrifying" by a leading actress on Wednesday as MPs called on the industry to stamp out the "endemic" mistreatment of performers.
The parliamentary inquiry, which reported its findings publicly on Wednesday, interviewed some of the biggest names in French cinema among the 350 people who testified about their experiences.
"The professional entertainment world needs to listen, read and take on board what is in the report," the head of the cross-party investigation, Sandrine Rousseau, told reporters at a press conference in Paris.
Campaigners hope that the conclusions can help bring about a sea-change in the French film, TV and other performing arts sectors that have been hit by a series of public sexual abuse scandals in recent years.
"It's impressive and rather terrifying," said French actress Judith Godreche, whose allegations about abuse at the hands of two French directors sparked the inquiry.
"But I'm not surprised because I didn't expect anything better," the 53-year-old, who appeared in "The Spanish Apartment" and "The Man in the Iron Mask", told Franceinfo radio station.
The parliamentary inquiry concluded that "moral, sexist, and sexual violence in the cultural sector is systemic, endemic, and persistent" and made nearly 90 recommendations including better safeguarding for children and women during castings and on set.
Rousseau called on the Cannes Film Festival, which begins next month, to set an example.
"The Cannes Film Festival must be the place where this shift in mindset happens, the place where we say loud and clear... amid the glitter and the red carpets... that finally, we all want things to change: every one of us, at every level of the industry," she added.
The annual gathering of the world's film elite on the French Riviera is set to begin on May 13, with festival organisers set to reveal the 2025 line-up of films on Thursday.
- Depardieu trial -
The first day of Cannes this year will coincide with the verdict in the first sexual assault trial of French film legend Gerard Depardieu which gripped the country last month.
Depardieu, who is accused of assaulting two women on the set of a film in 2021, is the highest-profile figure to face criminal accusations following the #MeToo movement which encouraged women to speak out against violence.
The parliamentary inquiry called into question a prevalent view in France that abusive behaviour by top cultural figures can be excused in the name of art.
"The 'cultural exception', but at what price?" it asks.
"In our country, there's a cult of talent and creative genius," Erwan Balanant, a centrist MP on the commission, told AFP.
Some of France's biggest silver-screen stars agreed to testify to the inquiry including Juliette Binoche, Jean Dujardin and Pierre Niney, but usually behind closed doors and sometimes on condition that their remarks were not made public.
Actor Sara Forestier, who was present at Wednesday's press conference, told MPs in November how she had repeatedly said "no" to directors who wanted to sleep with her and who threatened to take roles away if she refused.
"Until the day I said 'no' one too many times -- and I paid the price for it," she added, recounting how she had to leave a shoot in 2017 after allegedly being slapped.
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