France arrests two filmmakers following sexual abuse allegations

Published on: 01/07/2024 – 12:52

3 minutes

Their questions about the alleged abuses, some dating back to the 1980s and all of which they deny, come as activists say cinema has for too long served as a cover for abuse.

An AFP journalist saw Jacquot, 77, and Doillon, 80, arrive Monday morning at the Paris police station accompanied by their lawyers.

Judith Godreche, a 52-year-old actress and director, earlier this year formally accused Jacquot of rape and Doillon of sexual assault when she was a minor, accusations both men deny.

She described Jacquot as having an unhealthy “hold” over her during a relationship with him that began when she was 14, from 1986 to 1992.

And she accused Doillon of groping her during an unplanned sex scene in one of his films when she was 15.

Several other actors have also filed complaints against the two men.

Isild Le Besco, 41, accused Jacquot of raping her between 1998 and 2007 during a toxic relationship that began when she was 16 and he was 52.

Julia Roy, a 34-year-old actress who has appeared in several of his films, accuses him of sexual assault in “a context of violence and moral constraint which lasted several years”, indicated a source close to the case.

Besco also accused Doillon of making advances during work sessions, while actress Anna Mouglalis claimed the filmmaker forcibly kissed her in 2011.

'I'm crying'

The directors' lawyers said there was no need to arrest them for questioning and stressed that they should be considered innocent until proven guilty.

Jacquot's lawyer, Julia Minkowski, declared that her client would “finally be able to speak before the law”, denouncing what she described as “unacceptable slippages” in the media coverage of this affair.

Doillon's lawyer, Marie Dose, said no legal criteria could justify his detention for questioning “36 years” after the incident alleged by Godrèche, adding that he could have answered questions without being detained .

Sources close to the case indicated that their interrogation could include a confrontation with those who accuse them.

Godrèche on Instagram said she was deeply moved.

“I’m crying,” she wrote.

“I don't know if I have the strength, but I will have it. I will have it… For her,” she wrote, posting a photo of herself as a teenager next to Jacquot, who is 25 years her senior.

His lawyer, Laure Heinich, did not wish to comment.

Since breaking her silence, Godreche has become a leading voice in the #MeToo movement in France.

After calling for a film watchdog, parliament voted in May to create a commission to investigate sexual and gender-based violence in the film industry and other cultural sectors.

The general director of France's largest film institution, Dominique Boutonnat, resigned on Friday after being found guilty of sexual assault on his godson in 2020.

And film legend Gérard Depardieu, 75, will go on trial in October for sexually assaulting two women.

He also faces a second trial after being charged in 2020 with rape after actress Charlotte Arnould alleged he raped her in 2018 when she was 22 and anorexic.

He denies all the allegations.

© 2024 AFP