It is the fall of a myth. The collapse of one of the best-known faces of French cinema, both in this country and abroad. Gérard Depardieu, acclaimed and omnipresent on screens for decades, is in the eye of the storm. The recent broadcast of an unpublished video in which the actor utters misogynistic and obscene comments adds to dozens of accusations of sexual violence and two complaints, one of them for rape. He Depardieu case It has also opened a reflection on the collusion of society with what used to be one of its national prides in the midst of the silence of the vast majority of French cinema.
His image has been tarnished for a long time. For his tax exile, for obtaining Russian citizenship, for rubbing shoulders with President Vladimir Putin or the Chechen leader Ramzan Kadirov. But in recent weeks, the interpreter has been in the spotlight again, especially after his appearance in several fragments of a video, released on December 7. The recordings, which had never come to light, show him again without filters, during a visit to North Korea in 2018. That same year, the French actress Charlotte Arnould had denounced the actor for sexual assault and two rapes.
“J'ai une poutre dans le caleçon!”
🔴 #ComplementDenquete a récupéré des images jamais dévoilées de Gérard Depardieu lors d'un voyage en Corée du Nord en 2018.
L'acteur a multiplié les commentaires obscènes à l'encontre des femmes qu'il croise.
▶️ Ce soir at 11pm on France 2 pic.twitter.com/dtOrb2AHF3
— Complément d'enquête (@Cdenquete) December 7, 2023
“Women love to ride horses. Their clitorises rub against the chair (…) They enjoy it a lot. “They are sluts,” she is heard saying while she visits a riding center. Shortly after, he sexualizes a girl of about 10 who plays the sport. The images, which generated a wave of indignation, are part of an unreleased documentary made by the writer and director Yann Moix, known for his sexist statements. In another scene, the artist indicates that he weighs 124 kilos. And he says to a woman, while she touches his left shoulder: “Wait, I'm not erect now. When erect it is 126″. These are just two moments from the broadcast Complément d'Enquêtewhich broadcast the sequences on the public channel France 2. The myth of French cinema is shown without filters, making sexist and inappropriate comments without stopping.
The report also offered the testimony of four women who accuse the actor of sexual violence. One of them, actress Hélène Darras, filed another complaint against Depardieu in September for a sexual assault committed during filming in 2007. The news broke one day before the broadcast aired. A week after its broadcast, the artist was also splashed by the opening of an investigation into the death of an actress, Emmanuelle Debever, who jumped off a bridge into the Seine. The 60-year-old interpreter had accused Depardieu of sexual assault in 2019.
Depardieu's behavior “embarrasses” France, reacted the Minister of Culture, Rima Abdul Malak. On Friday he announced that he would consider withdrawing the Legion of Honor, the highest French distinction. Depardieu received it in 1996 from the then president Jacques Chirac. The actor, who rejects the accusations against him, indicated the next day through his lawyers that he was making his decoration available to the minister. France has already withdrawn this insignia from the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, the American cyclist Lance Armstrong or the British designer John Galliano.
The end of the “sacred monster”?
Has the succession of news in recent weeks been the straw that broke the camel's back? The images have particular resonance in light of the accusations against him. And they cause some discomfort. How to react today to this national legend, known as the “sacred monster”? The answers not only came from the Minister of Culture. Abroad, François Legault, prime minister of Quebec, the French-speaking province of Canada, decided to withdraw the medal of honor from the French icon, with more than 200 films and whose own presence in a film sometimes allowed it to be financed. The Belgian town of Estaimpuis, where the actor lived in 2012 to supposedly pay less taxes, withdrew his title of honorary citizen.
“We are all a little guilty,” acknowledged Marc Missonnier, president of the film producers union during the broadcast. “There was a tolerance [hacia Depardieu] “That was a mistake,” he added. The actress Anouk Grinberg, in turn, pointed out: “He is like this because everyone allows him to be like that.” In an interview after the report was broadcast, the interpreter denounced the “deafening silence” of the world of cinema.
A complaint that Marine Turchi, Mediapart journalist, has evidenced in her articles about the case. In April, the investigative outlet revealed that 13 women had accused the interpreter of Cyrano de Bergerac (1990) of committing acts of sexual violence during film shootings between 2004 and 2022. The testimonies—from actresses, makeup artists, technicians, extras, and interns—highlighted the lack of reaction from the filming crews. According to the testimonies, an attempt was made to put the situation into perspective with the phrase: “Oh, it's Gérard.” Many of the events occurred before the #MeToo feminist movement, which emerged at the end of 2017 in the United States and ended with the conviction of film producer Harvey Weinstein.
Breaking this tolerance takes time, especially in the world of cinema, the journalist points out. “After my investigation in April, no organization in the world of cinema and no figure in the industry reacted, with the exception of the Société des réalisateurs de films (SRF) and the actress André Bescond,” explains Turchi in an exchange of messages. The actor, he assures, “continues to receive support from some of the biggest names in French cinema, who have stated that it is impossible for him to be a rapist.” Since charges were brought against him in 2018, Depardieu has worked in 15 films. But lately his presence has become more discreet. In April, he was removed from the film's promotional campaign. The taste of simple things. And in October refused to participate in a film by director Michel Haznavicius, “by mutual agreement” with the director, screenwriter of The Artist.
The actor came out of his silence last October, through a column published in the newspaper The Figaro. In it, he denounced a “lynching” orchestrated by a “media court” and insisted: “I have never, ever, ever abused a woman.” A court confirmed his indictment for rape and sexual assault in 2022. In the open letter, he acknowledges some provocative and even “rude” behavior and apologizes for it. But, at the same time, she regrets the feminist demonstrations that interrupted several of her concerts in the summer, during a tour in which she performed songs by an iconic French singer.
His career suffers the first consequences. The director Fabien Onteniente said that he would no longer accept to work with him. “It is not in my values, it is not possible to close our eyes to this type of unacceptable behavior,” he stated in the Franceinfo chain. France Télévisions, the public television company, informed Agence France Presse on Monday that it will continue to buy and broadcast “films with Gérard Depardieu.” Manuel Alduy, director of international development of the group, had said on December 11 to Liberation: “We do not censor works. But making a new film 'with the name' of Depardieu seems very difficult to me.”
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