“Serial Miller” by Chloé Vienne, the investigative book which looks back on the Gérard Miller “affair”

After a report for “Envoyé Spécial”, which relayed the testimonies of several women accusing the psychoanalyst of sexual abuse, the journalist continues her investigation in a book which dissects what looks like a system of predation.

Le February 29, 2024, in the wake of the magazine’s revelations Elle on Gérard Miller, then accused of sexual assault and rape by several dozen women, the journalists Chloé Vienne and Lucie Rémy signed, for Special correspondent, a report in which three women testified who declared themselves victims of the media psychoanalyst.

Seven and a half months later, the first continues the investigation in a book, Serial Miller, published on October 16 by Stock editions. A well-received title for a work which, if it aims to paint a portrait of the famous chronicler, above all dissects with precision a repetitive mode of operation that the ex-member of the Ruquier gang would have implemented with very young women , some of which were supposedly minor at the time of the events. Gérard Miller would have gotten into the habit of spotting them in the audience of the shows of which he was one of the star columnists, but also on the benches of Paris-VIII where he taught, before inviting them to accompany him to shows, then to dinner, then to indulge in “hypnosis games” at his home. He would thus have lavished several of them with « caresses » and others « massages » on the buttocks and chest without anyone saying they remember having consented. Some denounce rape. And several alleged victims further suspect they were drugged without their knowledge, reporting “black holes”.

An investigation opened by the Paris prosecutor’s office

If the Paris prosecutor’s office opened an investigation on February 23, 2024, based on six reports for gestures “at least gendered”, Gérard Miller, presumed innocent, has so far not been questioned by the police, nor tried, as recalled by a warning placed in the preamble of the book.

To bring to light this carefully honed operation, Chloé Vienne relied on the testimonies of around ten women, who reported facts which allegedly occurred from the 1990s until the years 2003-2004. But also on the declarations of “little hands from the Ruquier circus”, as it designates makeup artists, lighting designers, technicians… In all, the journalist says she spoke with eighty of them, called “one by one” and who “were all aware but never thought to say it, to do something”, writes Chloé Vienne. “Every day, we noticed between us that he was doing his bidding among the public,” summarizes a technician on condition of anonymity. There are also several who told the journalist that after having heard him pronounce these words on numerous occasions to visibly very young spectators “that he undertook on the set”, “How old are you?” » had become the nickname with which they had adorned Gérard Miller.

Deafening silence from the “stars”

To “plateau people” d’We tried everything who agreed to answer her questions, Chloé Vienne contrasts the deafening silence in which the stars of the show have decided to wall themselves, such media personalities as the gang leader Laurent Ruquier, the actress Isabelle Mergault, the actor Franck Dubosc … The author and feminist activist Isabelle Alonso limits herself to referring her to the blog post she wrote on April 6, 2024, in response to an interview request made by a journalist from Mediapart – a text where she invokes « l’ambiance, avant-MeToo ». Contacted by telephone for the report for Special correspondentthe powerful producer of the show Catherine Barma blurted out to the journalist and “Ah! Ah ah, obviously, this had to happen! » before returning to his press service.

Among the columnists contacted, only the comedians Jean-François Dérec and Éric Métayer, as well as the cartoonist Philippe Geluck, agreed to respond to his calls. Referring to the latter, Chloé Vienne, contacted by telephone, comments: “I could see he was annoyed: he tried to help me, he wanted to understand. He admitted to me that he fell out of his chair. » Gérard Miller, for his part, confirmed in a press release to the author that he wished ” to book [sa] word to the judicial institution ». Since the announcement of the publication of Serial Miller, she indicates having been contacted by three other women. During September, the magazine Elle wrote for his part that he had collected eighty-four testimonies.

Serial Miller, by Chloé Vienne, with the collaboration of Sophie Blandinières, ed. Stock, 280 p., €20.