French film stars reflect on 'clumsy' behaviour in parliamentary hearing on sexual violence

Four of France’s biggest male actors have testified at a parliamentary inquiry commission on sexual violence in the film industry last week.

Oscar-winner Jean Dujardin and esteemed domestic stars Pio Marmaï, Jean-Paul Rouve and Gilles Lellouche attended an almost two-hour hearing to speak to lawmakers about their experience with the #MeToo movement. At their request, the hearing was held privately but the National Assembly released a transcript of the discussion on 18 March.

The commission had already questioned dozens of film executives, screenwriters, journalists and performers since it was set up in October. In December, actresses Juliette Binoche, Virginie Efira and Noémie Merlant testified in a session closed to the public.

This was the first hearing featuring major male actors - with Dujardin, Rouve and Lellouche also working as directors in the film industry.

“It's important that we speak out and play our part in this work, so that we can find a healthier and more intelligent way forward”, said Marmaï, 40, at the beginning of the session.

“We haven’t seen or heard anything”

Questioned about the behaviours that they observed over the course of their careers, the four actors admitted that they had been largely ignorant to the misconducts encountered by their female counterparts.

“We're not lying when we say we haven't seen or heard anything”, said Rouve, 58. “None of my actress friends ever told me, about a shooting, that a particular director or actor had been annoying. What we heard was: ‘He's a bit of a flirt’. But I couldn't imagine what they were going through, or how far it could go. As a man, I haven't experienced all that. It's a world that I've discovered.”

“I still think that our attitude probably didn't encourage people to come and open up”, said Lellouche, 52, who acknowledged that the #MeToo movement had created “a collective awakening."

"It’s no longer possible for anyone not to feel involved,” he added.

The inquiry commission, chaired by Greens lawmaker Sandrine Rousseau, was first called for by French actress Judith Godrèche. She became a significant voice in the fight against sexual violence after she accused directors Benoît Jacquot and Jacques Doillon of having sexually assaulted her when she was a teenager. Both deny charges.

A necessary introspection

In the years following the #MeToo earthquake in 2017, several French actors and filmmakers have come under similar accusations, including high-profile figures like Gérard Depardieu, Édouard Baer or Gérard Darmon.

In February, director Christophe Ruggia was found guilty of sexually assaulting actress Adèle Haenel when she was between 12 and 14 years old.

The accusations forced the “great family of cinema”, as the French film industry is known, into a state of introspection.

At the hearing, Dujardin, Rouve, Lellouche and Marmaï reflected on their own actions. “If I have to do an X-ray of my past behaviour, it's obvious that I've been clumsy”, said Lellouche.

“Yes, I think I may have been inelegant in the way I said things," Marmaï recalled. "I always try to create a relaxed and happy working environment and at times, I probably made jokes that have been misunderstood. There have been times when I've had to apologise, both in person and in writing, to the person offended by what I had said."

The purpose of this parliamentary inquiry commission is also to come up with tools to make the movie business safer. Judith Godrèche has been advocating for a specific person to oversee child actors on all film sets.

The actors questioned last week also reflected on the necessity of using intimacy coordinators.

“I shot a lot of nude and sex scenes when I was younger,” Marmaï recalled. “Perhaps to protect myself, I told myself that I didn't care about the result, that I was at ease, that nothing affected me. Over time, I realised that I felt pressured - if I'm honest, that's how I felt. The intimacy coordinator has an essential role.”

Throughout its almost six-month work, the commission was sometimes the scene of tense moments. In his recent hearing, film producer and former agent Dominique Besnehard criticised the accusers of Harvey Weinstein and Gérard Depardieu and called the inquiry a "trial."

At other times, the committee also allowed new stories to be heard. During her December session, actress Nina Meurisse recalled how she was forced to film a rape scene without preparation. At ten years old, it was her first movie role.

The commission is set to publish a report summarising its findings at the beginning of April.