US EditionDepardieu Convicted. Cannes Reacts. But Did #MeToo Finally Win in France?
- On Tuesday, Gérard Depardieu was found guilty of sexual assault and received an 18-month suspended sentence for inappropriately touching two women during the filming of a movie in France in 2021.
- This conviction followed years of accusations from more than 20 women and challenged beliefs that his artistic brilliance and fame would keep him untouchable.
- Two days following Depardieu’s conviction, the Cannes Film Festival prevented Théo Navarro-Mussy—facing allegations of sexual assault from three ex-partners—from participating in the premiere of a film in which he appears.
- In 2024, France recorded over twenty-two thousand rape allegations, yet less than three percent resulted in convictions; however, significant legal progress is noted with the sentencing of 51 men for drugging and sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot, indicating gradual changes within the justice system.
- The Depardieu case and Cannes ban sent a message signaling a cultural shift away from protecting powerful men, though resistance remains and the system is only slowly changing amid varied public reactions.
47 Articles
47 Articles
CHRONIQUE. In condemning Gérard Depardieu on 13 May 2025, the Paris Correctional Court recognized for the first time the notion of "secondary victimization", i.e. the idea that the defence adopted by the lawyer of a sexual attacker could cause further suffering in his victim. At the risk of threatening the rights of the defence?
The 36-year-old actor was invited to speak on the outcome of Gérard Depardieu's trial on the margins of the Cannes Film Festival and its consequences in the film industry.
Depardieu Trial: "The Notion of Secondary Victimization Is Not a Trap for the Lawyer: It Is a Guard"
TRIBUNE. As the denunciation of the suffering inflicted on the victims in the course of the judicial proceedings increases, the concept, just introduced into French law, will prevent these abuses – provided that it is based on objective criteria, says lawyer Alexandre Lazarègue, in a forum in the "World".
While Gérard Depardieu has just been found guilty of sexual assaults, reactions are increasing in the world of cinema. Present at the Cannes Film Festival, Pierre Niney has spoken out. The actor denounces, alerts, and calls for a real change in the industry.
With no actor, the poetic is as close to the obscenity as with Gérard Depardieu. Even today, his sexual assaults and political failures are interpreted by some as strokes of genius.
With the deep fall of Gérard Depardieu, the era of self-glorious machos ends in French film – eight years after the beginning of the #MeToo movement.
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