a “disciplinary procedure” will be initiated with a view to possible withdrawal of the Legion of Honor from the actor, announces the Minister of Culture

Invited Friday, December 15 on the show “C à vous” on France 5, the Minister of Culture Rima Abdul Malak announced that a “disciplinary procedure” was going to be engaged to decide whether Gérard Depardieu’s Legion of Honor should be withdrawn from him or not. “A council of the order will meet and will initiate a disciplinary procedure to decide whether this Legion of Honor should be suspended or not, withdrawn or not (…) I understand that it can be done…”declared the minister, who believes that the actor, targeted by two complaints for rape and sexual assault, “puts France to shame”.

The procedure will be notified to the actor at the beginning of the week by the Grand Chancellery, the office of the Minister of Culture announced to France Télévisions on Friday evening. Gérard Depardieu, indicted for rape and sexual assault on several women, has been at the heart of a controversy since the broadcast on France 2 of a “Additional investigation” showing the actor making sexual and sexist remarks during a trip to North Korea in 2018.

“I think we need to continue to see the films in which Gérard Depardieu starred, we’re not going to stop watching his films. On the other hand, I don’t think that today anyone wants to make a evening tribute or celebration to Gérard Depardieu. We are not going to remove his films from our heritage, not at all!” the minister declared again.

Gérard Depardieu received the Legion of Honor from Jacques Chirac in 1996.