Recently, Gérard Depardieu, a famous French actor who has appeared in many classic films such as "The Big Nose", "End Sorrow at Sunrise", "My American Uncle" and "Les Misérables" There has been a huge controversy between the French media and the public about the issue of praise and criticism, and even President Macron has been involved.

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More than 10 people accuse Depardieu of sexual assault

On December 21, local time, another Spanish female journalist named Ruth Baza reported to the local police, claiming that she was sexually assaulted by Depardieu when she went to Paris in 1995 to interview him. . According to media reports, the Spanish police have transferred the relevant case to the French police, and the French judicial department’s investigation into multiple sexual assault and rape accusations against the 75-year-old Depardieu is still ongoing.

Just three days ago, the historic Grevin Wax Museum on the right bank of the Seine in Paris announced that in view of strong public opinion on social media, it had decided to move the life-size wax figure of Depardieu, which had been on display since 1981. remove. Further back on December 16, the Municipal Council of the small Belgian town of Estaimpuis announced that it would withdraw the honorary citizen title awarded to Depardieu in 2013. In addition, the Canadian province of Quebec recently revoked its highest honor.

Depardieu's life-size wax figure at Grevin has been removed.

Depardieu's sex scandal broke out in 2018, when the anti-sexual assault movement started in Hollywood was spreading to France. The then 23-year-old actress Charlotte Arnould accused Depardieu of rape and sexual assault. In December 2020, the case officially entered the judicial investigation stage, but due to the epidemic and other reasons, there has been no official conclusion to this day. On the other hand, Depardieu has always admitted that he is innocent of this accusation, and his film career has not been affected by the case. In the past three years, he has continued to star in films such as "Strong as Ever", "Retirement Home", and "Xiang Xian Ji". come out.

It was not until April this year that the French online media Mediapart published an article accusing Depardieu of being a habitual sexual offender after interviewing as many as 13 victims. This affected his film career to some extent: it was originally scheduled to be released in May. Two film productions broadcast by France 2, "Strong as Ever" and "Des Hommes" (Des Hommes), have been temporarily canceled.

However, the recent wave of criticism among French people originated from a program broadcast by France 2's "Investigative News" column on December 7. They named the Depardieu incident. It is a special report for "Devilfall". Some of the latter's ugly words and deeds involving sexism in the past were concentrated and amplified in this program, which also attracted strong reactions from the public. This led to various deprivations of honorary titles. Action cutting.

In the program, many victims, including Charlotte Arnold, who claimed to have been sexually assaulted by Depardieu, disclosed their victimization, including one named Emmanuelle Debever), a young woman committed suicide by jumping from the Seine River in Paris on the day the program was broadcast. Although there is no evidence that this tragedy is directly related to Depardieu, the outside world has speculated that the victim should have been a long-term Under great physical and mental pressure, he finally chose the path of no return. According to De Bovey's statement on the show, when she was 19 years old, she joined the crew of the movie "Dandong" and was sexually assaulted several times by the male lead Depardieu. In addition, an actor named Hélène Darras said that she was sexually assaulted by him while filming the movie "Disco" in 2007. Depardieu still denies all these accusations, insisting that he is innocent and has never done anything to harm women.

The TV station stated that it would not completely block

In an interview with the media this week, French President Macron was also asked this question, and he replied: "I have always been a big fan of Gérard Depardieu, he is a great actor, He has made a huge contribution to French cinema and made the great image of France and our country known around the world." When asked, as one of the most famous actors in France, will the accusations against Depardieu be of any concern? When France's image was damaged, Mr. President also denied it and retorted: "France should be proud to have an actor like him. This is both my view as the French President and my true thoughts as an ordinary citizen." .”

On the other hand, there are indeed many ordinary French people like Macron who support Depardieu. They accused the French media of deliberately targeting the superstar with ulterior motives. In this regard, Manuel Alduy, the head of France Television 2, who is responsible for producing the above-mentioned investigative news program, publicly stated that for this state-owned television group, there is no conspiracy specifically targeting Depardieu. , and at this stage, there will be no deliberate boycott of film and television works in which he participates.

Audi said: "We will not issue any banning orders, but we will not specifically promote artists who have been judicially accused until their reputation is completely restored. As we all know, movies are a collective creation, Depa Diyo has appeared in more than 100 films, including many classics in French film history. If we stop the broadcast of these films now, it will be unfair to the film itself and its copyright owners, and It may very well set a dangerous precedent."

Therefore, in order to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the death of French director François Truffaut, France Television 2 has confirmed that it will launch a screening event in 2024. It is believed that "The Last Metro" starring Depardieu will be released by then It will also be broadcast normally. As for why the broadcast plans of "Strong as Ever" and "Wartime" were temporarily canceled in May this year, Audi explained: "We made the decision to release the film after Mediapart's investigative report came out. If If we did nothing at that time, the outside world would take it for granted that we were indifferent to this, which is obviously not true. Because these are some very serious accusations, we do not want to continue to cheer for the artists involved at this time."

However, careful people discovered that after the temporary suspension order was issued in May, in the second half of this year, French TV 2 broadcast "The Mystery of Saint-Tropez" and "The Unlucky Detective" starring Depardieu. Multiple works. In this regard, the person in charge, Manuel Audi, said that these are only regular broadcast programs and do not have any special significance to highlight Depardieu, so he thinks there is no problem. As for whether his TV station will continue to purchase new works by Depardieu in the future, he made it clear that the station has not purchased any new works related to Depardieu in the past six months. "We don't expect this to change anytime soon, as it's already difficult to find financing for Depardieu-related film projects."

Macron's comments anger women's rights groups

Earlier, French Culture Minister Rima Abdul Malak said in an interview with the media that in view of the seriousness of these sexual assault accusations, relevant units have launched investigation procedures. Depardieu in 1996 The French Legion of Honor, which Chirac received in 2001, is likely to be revoked.

Back in 2017, the former Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein was involved in a public controversy due to sexual assault incidents. Macron responded quickly and ordered the withdrawal of the French Legion of Honor he received in 2012. However, at this moment, when asked about the situation of his compatriot Depardieu, Macron said in a strong tone that he did not agree with the Minister of Culture’s statement this time. "If you want to ask me, are those artists, those celebrities, just say something that makes me feel shocking, and then I will start to take back their Legion of Honor medals one by one? My answer is, I won't. " Macron said.

"We cannot revoke the French Legion of Honor they received just based on some news reports. Otherwise, I believe that there are many artists, even deceased celebrities, who have their Legion of Honor medals, and we will take them back." The French president omitted He added helplessly. Finally, he added that he firmly believed that the "principle of presumption of innocence" is one of France's most important core values. As long as the court has not reached a conclusion for a day, it cannot decide without trial, because that may degenerate the originally just social movement. For the crazy witch hunt, which he was very opposed to. Therefore, he hopes that Depardieu can "defend his rights, continue to work, and continue to create like others."

In response to the president's statement, many French women's rights organizations expressed strong protest, criticizing Macron for not being a "president who supports feminism", criticizing him for deliberately choosing sides, deliberately confusing right and wrong, and whitewashing sexual predators as "witch hunts". "Victims.