(Rennes) Another renowned French filmmaker, André Téchiné, is the subject of a complaint for sexual harassment, a new example of the freedom of speech in the cinema sector in France, after years of silence.
After several complaints from actresses against renowned directors or actors, notably Gérard Depardieu, this time it is an actor, Francis Renaud, who accuses André Téchiné of harassment.
Francis Renaud, now 56 years old, “filed a complaint against Mr. Téchiné for sexual harassment, against [le directeur de distribution Gérard] Moulevrier for sexual assault,” the public prosecutor of Evreux (north-west of France), Rémi Coutin, told AFP.
“I have asked the police to open an investigation, without retaining a precise criminal classification for the moment because the hearing of Mr. Renaud calls for me to exercise the greatest caution for the moment” , he clarified.
During a hearing, Mr. Renaud filed a complaint against Mr. Téchiné for “stroking his hand and telling him that he was troubling him,” according to Mr. Coutin.
“If that was all there was, [ce n’est] not likely to be qualified as sexual harassment”, underlined the magistrate, calling not to “cast shame” on the filmmaker “on the basis of these facts alone […] insufficiently precise.
“At first glance, the facts that Francis Renaud denounces are all prescribed because of their seniority,” he added.
Concerning the complaint for sexual assault against Mr. Moulevrier, the actor “speaks of facts which could perhaps be qualified as sexual assault, he speaks of caresses in particular of his penis through clothes”, there is “ 20 or 25 years,” he said.
Here too, “the question of possible prescription” arises.
“It seems to me at this stage difficult to envisage with certainty any criminal qualifications” for the investigation, concluded Mr. Coutin.
Director of around thirty films, André Téchiné, 80 years old, was described in 2017 as a “giant of French cinema” by the Cannes Festival.
A wave of accusations of sexual harassment against now elderly directors and actors was launched recently in France, notably by the actress Judith Godrèche who filed a complaint against the filmmakers Benoît Jacquot and Jacques Doillon for facts dating back to her adolescence.
On February 22, the testimony of French actor Aurélien Wiik, under the hashtag #meetoogarçons, sparked several hundred testimonies on social networks from men victims of sexual violence, whose stories have long been barely heard.
The 43-year-old actor indicates that he was “abused” from the age of 11 to 15 by his agent and that he filed a complaint at the age of 16 because his attacker “did it to others”.
His message brought in its wake several hundred testimonies on the social networke art.