In France’s entertainment sector, sexual violence and harassment are pervasive, as highlighted in a critical report by French lawmakers revealed, which concluded that women and children are still being regularly targeted, despite the country’s #MeToo movement.
The Green MP Sandrine Rousseau and the centrist Erwan Balanant found that sexual violence, harassment, and intimidation were “systemic, pervasive and ongoing” in all areas of the French culture and entertainment industry, from TV and cinema to theatre, radio, comedy, advertising, rock and classical music.
After a five-month investigation, during which they claimed to have received “overwhelming” testimony from nearly 400 individuals, including actors and industry professionals, the politicians said that attitudes in France were “hardly changing” many years after the #MeToo movement began.
The parliamentary investigation had heard reports of rape, sexual assault, and sexual harassment, with “numerous” alleged incidents occurring recently. They said a decades-long culture of silencing survivors was deteriorating further in France, amid a sense of “collective denial.” They described a “pervasive sexism” as well as racism in the industry.
The legislators made nearly 90 suggestions, including stronger safeguards for actors and models under the age of 18, and enhanced oversight of actors’ agents and casting practices.
They also recommended prohibiting the sexualisation of minors in films and fashion photography. They stated that mandatory intimacy coordinators should be present for any intimate scene involving minors, and that intimacy coordinators should be considered mandatory for cinema, TV, and theatre productions.
Women working on film sets recounted how, during their routine work, senior male crew members would make sexual remarks, including demands for oral sex. Young women described being pinned against walls and sexually assaulted while on the job. One assistant director described being called to see an actor and discovering him waiting with his trousers down.
The report concluded that sexual assault was frequent during casting sessions. Scenes involving sex or nudity were also identified as settings where sexual assaults and rape occurred. One film crew member said she realized a female actor had been raped during a bedroom scene, but the director did nothing when it was reported to him.
The report uncovered that children were particularly vulnerable and exposed to abuse in the film industry and the performing arts.
One actor recounted how, at age 10, she had to appear in a rape scene but was not allowed to meet the actor beforehand and was caught off guard when he grabbed her. “I was petrified,” she said. Another teenager was shoved and verbally attacked during a romantic scene with an actor several decades older. One young child had his trousers pulled down on set when he refused to perform wearing only his underpants. A director reminded another child of his father’s death just before filming a scene, in order to evoke the right emotional expression for the shot.
The lawmakers called for stricter oversight of music schools, acting academies, and choirs after hearing accusations of a music teacher telling a young girl “to look more like a whore” while playing the flute. They also heard allegations of a choir director kissing girls on the neck.
Rousseau said what stood out to her in testimonies from the film industry was how early sexual harassment began for some actors. She said: “For some, it started in childhood, in school, at auditions and continued throughout their careers.”
Several weeks have passed since the Paris trial for sexual assault involving French film star Gérard Depardieu. He denies the accusations against him, and the verdict is expected next month. The actor and director Judith Godrèche, who emerged as a prominent voice in France’s #MeToo movement and advocated for the inquiry, described Wednesday’s report as “terrifying.” She has filed complaints against directors Benoît Jacquot and Jacques Doillon, accusing them of sexually assaulting her when she was a teenager. Both have denied the claims.
