“We can decide that men accused of rape no longer rule the roost in cinema,” says Judith Godrèche during the César Awards

She arrived on stage, greeted by thunderous applause and standing ovation. Actress Judith Godrèche spoke on Friday February 23 during the César ceremony, two weeks after accusing directors Benoît Jacquot and Jacques Doillon of sexual and physical violence when she was a teenager, accusations that the latter deny. “We can decide that men accused of rape no longer rule the roost in the cinema,” she launched in a powerful speech lasting several minutes.

His highly anticipated intervention comes as his testimony launched a second wave #MeToo on French cinema, with the questioning of several figures of the seventh art. The 51-year-old actress denounced the excesses of cinema. “Why accept that this art that binds us is used as illicit trafficking in young girls?”she asked herself, describing herself as “a ghost from the Americas who comes to kick in the armored door”.

“To believe yourself, you still have to be believed”, has also said Judith Godrèche, before marking a silence of several seconds.