Since the broadcast of “Complément d’investigation” on France 2 in which “the sacred monster” of French cinema makes sexist and sexual remarks, the world of the 7th art has been in turmoil.
For some, he is the symbol of misogyny and sexist and sexual violence, he who is accused by 16 women of such acts, and who has been indicted for rape and sexual assault for three years. For others, Gérard Depardieu remains “the last sacred monster of French cinema”. Since the broadcast, on December 7 on France 2, of an issue of “Complément d’investigation” devoted to the actor, in which he makes obscene remarks, the controversies have continued. In four acts, franceinfo summarizes the twists and turns of recent weeks.
1 “Additional investigation” broadcasts images where he sexualizes a child and insults women
Unpublished images of the French actor are revealed in “Complément d’investigation”, Thursday December 7 on France 2. While Gérard Depardieu visited North Korea in 2018 for the 70th anniversary of the dictatorship, alongside Yann Moix, the writer and director, made a documentary from it, which was never sold or broadcast. The France Télévisions show was able to obtain nearly 18 hours of videos filmed at the time and chose to broadcast several extracts.
Gérard Depardieu makes many inappropriate and degrading remarks about women. While visiting a stud farm, he declared in particular: “Women love to ride horses, their clits rub against the pommel of the saddle (…) They’re big sluts.” Another sequence particularly shocks public opinion. As a rider aged around ten passes by, he continues: “If [le cheval] gallops, she cums.”
Since then, the actor has been in turmoil. If he has so far only responded to RTL in a telephone interview (which he did not wish to be recorded) to thank his supporters, his family has denounced “a cabal” in a column published, Sunday December 17, by The Sunday Journal. His lawyers are also stepping up to the plate in the media, recalling the presumption of innocence, as on the set of “C à vous” on France 5. Yann Moix, for his part, affirmsyears an interview with TV Magazinepublished Thursday December 21, be “99% sure that Gérard made these comments about a rider who was not the little girl. Gérard is incapable of making comments like that about a child.”
2 Emmanuel Macron defends himself
Wishing to speak the day after the controversial vote on the immigration bill, the President of the Republic also addresses the Depardieu affair in “C à vous”, on December 20. “There are sometimes outbursts over comments made, I am wary of the context, I understood that there were controversies (…) over the words which were out of step with the images”, he declares. A few days later, a bailiff, commissioner of justice and hearing officer at the Council of State and the Court of Cassation, commissioned by France Télévisions, confirms, after viewing the rushes, that the words spoken by the actor were indeed aimed at the little girl on horseback.
Other comments made by Emmanuel Macron in the show are controversial. He disavows his Minister of Culture regarding a possible withdrawal of the Legion of Honor from Gérard Depardieu. According to him, this distinction “is not here to preach”and Rima Abdul Malak “a bit too much” advanced. The head of state also says he is “a great admirer of Gérard Depardieu (…), an immense actor” Who “makes France proud”.
Emmanuel Macron also recalls that “violence against women and gender equality” are “the two great causes” of his five-year terms. However, feminist associations deplore a lack of empathy for the complainants. “He could have said that it’s unbearable to talk about women like that (…) He could have had a message for the victims of Gérard Depardieu and women in general. observed the president of the Women’s Foundation, Anne-Cécile Mailfert, to AFP. In a column published by the Worldin the form of a letter addressed to Emmanuel Macron, members of the MeTooMedia association believe, on December 27, that this support for the actor demonstrates “of total ignorance of the field of sexist and sexual violence”.
3 Artists denounce a “lynching”
Around fifty artists take up the defense of Gérard Depardieu in a column published on December 25 by Le Figaro. Among them are the director Bertrand Blier, the actresses Nathalie Baye, Carole Bouquet Charlotte Rampling, Jacques Weber, Pierre Richard and Gérard Darmon, as well as the singers Roberto Alagna, Carla Bruni, and Jacques Dutronc. “We can no longer remain silent in the face of the lynching that has befallen him, in the face of the torrent of hatred that is pouring down on his person,” it is written. For these personalities from the world of culture, we must separate the man from the artist: “No one will ever be able to erase the indelible trace of his work which has forever marked our time. The rest, everything else, concerns justice”.
The initiative caused a new scandal and shook up French cinema. In particular, the genesis of this text and its author, Yannis Ezziadi. Close to Julie Depardieu, editorialist for the far-right magazine Talkerit is also, according to The worldfamiliar with the sphere of Eric Zemmour’s party, Reconquest.
Some signatories distance themselves a few days later. “I signedsays Carole Bouquet, Friday on Instagram. However, I do not support the ideas and values associated with the journalist carrying this column. Giving it visibility through Gérard makes me, as you can imagine, deeply uncomfortable!;”. Nadine Trintignant also expressed her discomfort to the magazine Point. “When I signed this column, I didn’t know who it was written by,” explains the director, Who “ask people (…) who are shocked not to [lui] want to [sa] serious error”.
4 Others want to break “the law of silence”
A “counter-tribune” of 600 artists, published on the blog “brainsunavailable.net” and relayed in The Mediapart Club calls on Saturday to “refuse the trivialization of words and actions such as those” by Gérard Depardieu. The singers Angèle, Louane, Suzane, and Pomme, the actress Corinne Masiero, or even the comedian Waly Dia are among the signatories.
For them, “art does not have to be made by idols outside of reality, art is not on the side of the whims of stars” And “the production of art is not an abstraction located outside of social dynamics”. They urge the cinema world to break “the law of silence”.