French police question two directors over sexual abuse allegations

Lina Portman2 days ago

0 2 minutes read

Paris (AFP) – French authorities questioned two top art-house film directors for the second day in a row on Tuesday after actors accused them of sexual abuse, a source familiar with the matter said.

Published on: 02/07/2024 – 11:57Amended: 02/07/2024 – 11:56

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Benoit Jacquot, 77, and Jacques Doillon, 80, spent the night in a Paris police station after being summoned for questioning on Monday morning, and have denied all charges.

Their questioning over alleged abuse of much younger actors, including in the 1980s and on several occasions when they were minors, comes as activists say French cinema has for too long served as a cover for such abuse.

Investigators opened an investigation after actress and director Judith Godreche, 52, formally accused Jacquot of rape during a relationship with him that began when she was 14 and he was 25 years her senior.

She also filed a complaint against Doillon for sexual assault during a filming when she was 15 years old.

Several other actors have since made similar allegations.

Isild Le Besco, 41, filed a complaint for rape during a relationship with Jacquot that also began when she was a minor, and Julia Roy, 34, accused him of sexual assault.

Le Besco also claimed that Doillon made advances towards her during work sessions, while Anna Mouglalis, 46, claimed that the filmmaker forcibly kissed her in 2011.

Lawyers for Jacquot and Doillon objected to their clients being held for questioning, saying they could have answered the questions as free men, and stressed that they remained innocent until proven guilty.

They could be held for up to 48 hours from their initial detention starting Monday morning.

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

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

The CEO of France's largest film institution, Dominique Boutonnat, resigned Friday after being found guilty of sexually assaulting his godson in 2020.

Boutonnat was sentenced to three years in prison, two of which were suspended. He will be able to serve his year in prison at home, wearing an electronic tag.

And film legend Gérard Depardieu, 75, put his career on hold last fall after a series of accusations against him, all of which he denies.

He is due to stand trial in October on charges of sexually assaulting two women, and also faces a second trial after being charged in 2020 with raping an actress in 2018 when she was 22 and anorexic.