Berliner Boersenzeitung - French male film stars tell #MeToo inquiry about 'clumsy' remarks

EUR -
AED 3.963855
AFN 77.141298
ALL 99.285391
AMD 426.552655
ANG 1.943884
AOA 987.454539
ARS 1156.476528
AUD 1.71234
AWG 1.942533
AZN 1.836039
BAM 1.955583
BBD 2.177758
BDT 131.075451
BGN 1.95529
BHD 0.406774
BIF 3156.616754
BMD 1.079185
BND 1.44494
BOB 7.453173
BRL 6.202297
BSD 1.07858
BTN 92.457738
BWP 14.745363
BYN 3.529808
BYR 21152.030217
BZD 2.16656
CAD 1.544427
CDF 3097.261255
CHF 0.951946
CLF 0.026249
CLP 1007.300441
CNY 7.726377
CNH 7.845747
COP 4500.472144
CRC 538.540224
CUC 1.079185
CUP 28.598408
CVE 110.728693
CZK 24.964575
DJF 191.79305
DKK 7.462069
DOP 68.315345
DZD 144.467284
EGP 54.563724
ERN 16.187778
ETB 139.376405
FJD 2.478672
FKP 0.837437
GBP 0.833244
GEL 3.000024
GGP 0.837437
GHS 16.729561
GIP 0.837437
GMD 77.162869
GNF 9340.347857
GTQ 8.316077
GYD 226.274884
HKD 8.391906
HNL 27.74569
HRK 7.533143
HTG 141.304316
HUF 401.532583
IDR 17902.495616
ILS 3.967058
IMP 0.837437
INR 92.481263
IQD 1413.732632
IRR 45447.197961
ISK 142.711174
JEP 0.837437
JMD 169.291209
JOD 0.765168
JPY 163.087011
KES 139.757041
KGS 93.3487
KHR 4332.928374
KMF 492.647321
KPW 971.284176
KRW 1581.238356
KWD 0.332767
KYD 0.8988
KZT 539.21015
LAK 23376.230613
LBP 96694.995581
LKR 319.554531
LRD 215.351455
LSL 19.673796
LTL 3.186553
LVL 0.652788
LYD 5.207029
MAD 10.38122
MDL 19.495836
MGA 5034.399473
MKD 61.497972
MMK 2265.838397
MNT 3757.014446
MOP 8.639641
MRU 42.967767
MUR 49.416076
MVR 16.630152
MWK 1873.465344
MXN 21.942372
MYR 4.782402
MZN 68.971209
NAD 19.673802
NGN 1657.618021
NIO 39.660174
NOK 11.321252
NPR 147.93258
NZD 1.879908
OMR 0.415473
PAB 1.07858
PEN 3.933631
PGK 4.352624
PHP 61.884261
PKR 302.496033
PLN 4.183949
PYG 8641.120944
QAR 3.929044
RON 4.977526
RSD 117.304173
RUB 91.142664
RWF 1527.586672
SAR 4.048138
SBD 9.081234
SCR 15.512209
SDG 648.047162
SEK 10.786136
SGD 1.445822
SHP 0.84807
SLE 24.608036
SLL 22629.975538
SOS 616.736096
SRD 39.33684
STD 22336.955088
SVC 9.437952
SYP 14031.42579
SZL 19.695038
THB 36.541065
TJS 11.788991
TMT 3.78794
TND 3.356191
TOP 2.527555
TRY 41.021662
TTD 7.321187
TWD 35.724307
TZS 2881.424781
UAH 44.739249
UGX 3952.597905
USD 1.079185
UYU 45.414959
UZS 13972.752034
VES 74.046734
VND 27600.161878
VUV 133.119049
WST 3.046741
XAF 655.8842
XAG 0.031417
XAU 0.000353
XCD 2.916552
XDR 0.817808
XOF 655.610312
XPF 119.331742
YER 265.425185
ZAR 19.676687
ZMK 9713.962996
ZMW 31.004559
ZWL 347.497199
  • RYCEF

    0.0600

    10.3

    +0.58%

  • RBGPF

    1.2200

    68.22

    +1.79%

  • CMSC

    -0.1200

    22.82

    -0.53%

  • NGG

    0.2000

    63.77

    +0.31%

  • GSK

    0.2900

    38.6

    +0.75%

  • VOD

    0.0000

    9.36

    0%

  • BTI

    0.4310

    41.251

    +1.04%

  • RELX

    0.1600

    50.13

    +0.32%

  • RIO

    -0.3630

    62.507

    -0.58%

  • BP

    0.0950

    34.515

    +0.28%

  • AZN

    0.2650

    72.985

    +0.36%

  • CMSD

    0.0400

    22.7

    +0.18%

  • SCS

    0.6900

    11.29

    +6.11%

  • JRI

    0.0100

    12.97

    +0.08%

  • BCE

    0.4750

    23.125

    +2.05%

  • BCC

    -0.1600

    100.61

    -0.16%

French male film stars tell #MeToo inquiry about 'clumsy' remarks
French male film stars tell #MeToo inquiry about 'clumsy' remarks / Photo: Jemal Countess - GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP

French male film stars tell #MeToo inquiry about 'clumsy' remarks

Some of France's biggest male movie stars have testified at a parliamentary inquiry into sexual violence in the film business, saying they might have missed or even been guilty of inappropriate remarks before the #MeToo movement changed attitudes.

Text size:

Jean Dujardin, an Oscar winner in 2012 for his turn in "The Artist", as well as domestic silver screen heroes Gilles Lellouche, Pio Marmai and Jean-Paul Rouve agreed to speak to lawmakers last month behind closed doors.

A transcript of their remarks was published on the website of the French National Assembly on Tuesday, which AFP consulted.

Dujardin welcomed the #MeToo movement to denounce sexual violence, which has led to a series of scandals in the French industry but which was initially resisted as a puritan American import by some senior figures, including actress Catherine Deneuve.

"We don't see everything -- and perhaps we don't want to see," Dujardin, 52, said when asked why male actors had not spoken out earlier to protect their women colleagues or reported sexual violence. "I think the #MeToo movement has been useful from that point of view."

He added that "we no longer say what we used to say 10 or 15 years ago, and we won’t say the same things in 10 years either ... I feel that sexist reactions and clumsy remarks are gradually disappearing."

The #MeToo movement shook the French film industry from 2017, as it did Hollywood, exposing widespread sexual misconduct and challenging a long-standing culture of silence.

Several high-profile actors and directors have since been accused of sexual misconduct including national hero and "Cyrano de Bergerac" star Gerard Depardieu, who faces allegations from more than a dozen women.

A verdict in a sexual assault trial is expected next Monday.

Other targets include director Christophe Ruggia, who was found guilty of sexually assaulting a child actor last month, and Roman Polanski who is wanted in the United States for statutory rape.

Actor Judith Godreche, who helped spur the creation of the parliamentary inquiry, accused two French directors -- Benoit Jacquot and Jacques Doillon -- of abusing her when she was a teenager. Both deny the charges.

- 'Inappropriate' -

Lellouche, a widely admired French star who voices Obelix in the Asterix films and directed last year's domestic hit "L'Amour ouf", said #MeToo had led him to reflect on his conduct.

"If I examine my own behaviour, it’s certain that I must have been clumsy - it’s obvious," said the 52-year-old, who also had a cameo in the French hit series "Call My Agent".

Marmai, 40, agreed.

"I think I may have been clumsy in how I expressed things. I always try to create a relaxed and cheerful working atmosphere, and at times, I must have made jokes that were misunderstood," he said.

"There have been times when I apologised, both verbally and in writing, to the person who was offended by my remarks."

Jean-Paul Rouve, who starred opposite Marion Cotillard in the 2007 biopic of Edith Piaf "La Vie en Rose", said "no actress friend ever told me about a shoot that a certain director or actor was inappropriate."

He added: "What we used to hear was 'Oh, he’s a bit of a flirt.' But I couldn’t have imagined what they were actually going through, or how far it could go. As a man, I didn’t experience all that — it’s a world I’ve discovered."

Several of the actors stressed that inappropriate behaviour was not restricted to men, with female actors or directors also guilty.

Lellouche recounted an experience involving a woman director who tried to "seduce" him.

"I didn’t feel violently attacked — it was things like hands under my shirt. If I had done the same to a woman, it wouldn’t have been okay," he added.

Lawmakers approved the creation of the inquiry last May.

It is headed by Greens MP Sandrine Rousseau.

(G.Gruner--BBZ)