French culture clashes over Gerard Depardieu: Rape accusations, defense, and a brewing counter-petition

At 75 years old, Gerard Depardieu has built an admirable filmography, but his reputation has been stained over time. His image is not only marred due to his sympathies towards Vladimir Putin, but also his alleged misconduct towards women. Some years back, Charlotte Arnould accused Depardieu of rape. The case was initially dismissed, but subsequently reopened after criminal charges were filed. Depardieu, who denies the allegations, is currently awaiting either trial or dismissal of the charges.

In April last year, Depardieu was accused by 13 women of assault on the sets of movies and TV series spanning from 2004 to 2022. In December, a Spanish journalist, who had interviewed Depardieu nearly three decades ago, joined the list of accusers.

Rima Abdul Malak, the French Minister of Culture, called upon the commission of the "great chancellery", responsible for bestowing the Medal of the Legion of Honor, to initiate an investigation to decide whether the actor's medal should be suspended or completely annulled.

On December 20, President Emmanuel Macron defended Depardieu, condemning the "witch hunt" against the tarnished star. Praising him as a "great actor" and as someone who "brought glory to France," Macron did this on France 5, thus reaching a large audience of 3.3 million viewers.

On December 25, an open letter titled "Do Not Cross Out Gerard Depardieu" was published in the newspaper "Le Figaro." It was signed by 56 actors, writers, and film producers, including Carla Bruni, Charlotte Rampling, and Emmanuelle Seigner. Commentators highlighted that the average age of the signatories is 70 years. They declared, "Gerard Depardieu is probably the greatest of all actors. The last living legend of cinema. Attacking Depardieu is an assault on art."

The dispute around Depardieu escalated on December 29 when roughly 600 French personas from the realm of art and entertainment signed a "counter-petition" denouncing the defense of the actor. The signatories included both singers and actors (Judith Chemla, Félix Maritaud, Waly Dia, and Louise Chevillotte) as well as directors (Caroline Deruas). They all saw Macron's action and the aforementioned open letter as a dismissal of all victims of sexual violence.

"This is a grim and perfect illustration of a world that prevents changes," was a statement on the investigative news site Mediapart.

"The situation is a role reversal where the assailant ('monster', a man who is not remotely holy, but outright obscene) takes on the role of the victim, using the assistance of his friends. As always in cases of sexual violence against women, when the 'presumption of innocence' for the aggressor sounds very much like 'the presumption of lying' for the women who testify against him," there was stressed.