French Education Ministry cancels 'inappropriate' version of fairytale

Euronews

20-03-2025

The French Ministry of Education has cancelled an order for a modernised illustrated version of "Beauty and the Beast" intended for 10-year-old children, after it was deemed inappropriate.
The government had commissioned the new rendition of the popular fairytale as part of its annual 'A book for the holidays' campaign, through which 800,000 pupils receive a copy of an updated literary classic to read over the summer.
This year, the task had fallen upon cartoonist Jul, famous for his animated TV series Silex and the City and for his work as the latest writer of the Lucky Luke comics.
The book was ready for its first print run and even included an enthusiastic preface from Education minister Élisabeth Borne.
'In this version, created specifically for you, you'll discover Jul's mischievous style and sharp eye, which bring a modern turn to this tale', she wrote to the students.
However, the ministry backpedalled in a letter sent to the author on Monday.
'The finished book is not suitable for independent reading, at home, with the family and without the guidance of teachers, for pupils aged 10 to 11' and 'could raise a number of questions among students that would not necessarily be answered appropriately,' the letter stated.
The ministry specifically targeted mentions of social media and alcohol in the story. In Jul's take on the 1796 tale, the father of the princess is represented with a bottle in his hand. Visibly drunk, he sings the popular French hit by Michel Sardou, 'Les Lacs du Connemara'.
'Jul has a lot of talent. He uses irony and humour to great effect. But without guidance, I don't think it's appropriate' for 10-year-old children, Borne reacted on CNEWS.
Jul denounced a 'censorship' based on 'false pretexts.' For him, the real issue lies elsewhere. In his version, Beauty has brown skin and black curly hair. Her family has roots in Algeria, and the story addresses questions of immigration and integration.
"The only explanation seems to come from the disgust at seeing a world of princes and princesses that look a little more like the world of today's schoolchildren," the author said.
'Could the 'great replacement' of blonde princesses by young Mediterranean girls be the limit that the ministry's Versailles-based administration must not cross?', he added, referencing the far-right conspiracy theory that gained traction in France since the 2022 presidential election campaign.
This late turn of event makes it unlikely for the 800,000 pupils to receive a book this summer.
Launched in 2017, 'A book for the holidays' has previously provided students with updated versions of La Fontaine's "Fables", Homer's "The Odyssey" and Jean Giono's "The Man Who Planted Trees".
Four of France's biggest male actors have testified at a parliamentary inquiry commission on sexual violence in the film industry last week.
Oscar-winner Jean Dujardin and esteemed domestic stars Pio Marmaï, Jean-Paul Rouve and Gilles Lellouche attended an almost two-hour hearing to speak to lawmakers about their experience with the #MeToo movement. At their request, the hearing was held privately but the National Assembly released a transcript of the discussion on 18 March.
The commission had already questioned dozens of film executives, screenwriters, journalists and performers since it was set up in October. In December, actresses Juliette Binoche, Virginie Efira and Noémie Merlant testified in a session closed to the public.
This was the first hearing featuring major male actors - with Dujardin, Rouve and Lellouche also working as directors in the film industry.
'It's important that we speak out and play our part in this work, so that we can find a healthier and more intelligent way forward', said Marmaï, 40, at the beginning of the session.
Questioned about the behaviours that they observed over the course of their careers, the four actors admitted that they had been largely ignorant to the misconducts encountered by their female counterparts.
'We're not lying when we say we haven't seen or heard anything', said Rouve, 58. 'None of my actress friends ever told me, about a shooting, that a particular director or actor had been annoying. What we heard was: 'He's a bit of a flirt'. But I couldn't imagine what they were going through, or how far it could go. As a man, I haven't experienced all that. It's a world that I've discovered.'
'I still think that our attitude probably didn't encourage people to come and open up', said Lellouche, 52, who acknowledged that the #MeToo movement had created 'a collective awakening."
"It's no longer possible for anyone not to feel involved,' he added.
The inquiry commission, chaired by Greens lawmaker Sandrine Rousseau, was first called for by French actress Judith Godrèche. She became a significant voice in the fight against sexual violence after she accused directors Benoît Jacquot and Jacques Doillon of having sexually assaulted her when she was a teenager. Both deny charges.
In the years following the #MeToo earthquake in 2017, several French actors and filmmakers have come under similar accusations, including high-profile figures like Gérard Depardieu, Édouard Baer or Gérard Darmon.
In February, director Christophe Ruggia was found guilty of sexually assaulting actress Adèle Haenel when she was between 12 and 14 years old.
The accusations forced the 'great family of cinema', as the French film industry is known, into a state of introspection.
At the hearing, Dujardin, Rouve, Lellouche and Marmaï reflected on their own actions. 'If I have to do an X-ray of my past behaviour, it's obvious that I've been clumsy', said Lellouche.
'Yes, I think I may have been inelegant in the way I said things," Marmaï recalled. "I always try to create a relaxed and happy working environment and at times, I probably made jokes that have been misunderstood. There have been times when I've had to apologise, both in person and in writing, to the person offended by what I had said."
The purpose of this parliamentary inquiry commission is also to come up with tools to make the movie business safer. Judith Godrèche has been advocating for a specific person to oversee child actors on all film sets.
The actors questioned last week also reflected on the necessity of using intimacy coordinators.
'I shot a lot of nude and sex scenes when I was younger,' Marmaï recalled. 'Perhaps to protect myself, I told myself that I didn't care about the result, that I was at ease, that nothing affected me. Over time, I realised that I felt pressured - if I'm honest, that's how I felt. The intimacy coordinator has an essential role.'
Throughout its almost six-month work, the commission was sometimes the scene of tense moments. In his recent hearing, film producer and former agent Dominique Besnehard criticised the accusers of Harvey Weinstein and Gérard Depardieu and called the inquiry a "trial."
At other times, the committee also allowed new stories to be heard. During her December session, actress Nina Meurisse recalled how she was forced to film a rape scene without preparation. At ten years old, it was her first movie role.
The commission is set to publish a report summarising its findings at the beginning of April.