A French parliamentary investigation into sexual violence has condemned what it called “endemic” abuse in the country’s entertainment industry.
The damning report, details of which were released to French media ahead of the presentation to parliament on Wednesday, is calling for an overhaul in funding and regulations to protect vulnerable actors and minors on set.
“Moral, sexist, and sexual violence in the cultural sector is systemic, endemic, and persistent,” read a conclusion from French MP Sandrine Rousseau, who led the inquiry.
Some of France‘s biggest stars, including Juliette Binoche, Jean Dujardin, and Pierre Niney, agreed to testify. The inquiry was launched last October in the wake of allegations by French actress Judith Godrèche who accused veteran directors Jacques Doillon and Benoît Jacquot of raping her when she was 15 and called out the film industry’s inaction in the face of systematic abuse.
The findings follow last week’s sexual assault trial of French star Gerard Depardieu (Green Card, Cyrano de Bergerac), the highest-profile case in a wave of recent #MeToo allegations that has rocked the country’s cultural institutions. Depardieu is accused of sexually assaulting two women on a film set in 2021, allegations he denies. A verdict is due on May 13.
The parliamentary report makes 86 recommendations to better protect the vulnerable, including requiring all casting sessions to take place “in professional locations during working hours” with at least two adults present, requiring intimacy coordinators for sex scenes, and a general ban on the sexualization of minors in film and fashion shoots.
Other recommendations include a change to actor contracts to require “precise and detailed terms” regarding the filming or staging of intimate scenes, to ensure informed consent and safeguard actor rights, and granting actors the legal right to review and approve any edited scenes showing their intimate body parts, with the French film board, the CNC, providing mediation in disputes. The report also proposes extending a change in French law to extend the statute of limitations for adults to report cases of childhood sexual abuse.
Depardieu’s trial is only the latest in a series of #MeToo scandals and legal challenges that have rocked the French film world over the past few years, resulting in a sea change that, for many in the industry, feels long overdue.