“Denial, between oneself. » Mobilized for a long time for the withdrawal of the president of the CNC, the actress Judith Godrèche accused the government on Friday of having supported “until the verdict” Dominique Boutonnat, who has just been sentenced to three years in prison, one of which is closed for sexual assault on his nephew, by the Nanterre criminal court (Hauts-de-Seine). The powerful boss of the institution, aged 54, immediately announced that he was leaving his post, and indicated that he intended to appeal, reaffirming his “innocence”.
When the verdict was announced, Judith Godrèche, who had requested in February before the Senate the withdrawal of the boss of the CNC, criticized Emmanuel Macron on her Instagram account for having “reappointed” Dominique Boutonnat after “the complaint from his godson”, aged 19 at the time of the facts, who accused the fifty-year-old of having sexually assaulted him in August 2020. And this, “despite letters from unions, collectives, associations”, he said. – she recalled, including the 50/50 Collective which works for parity, equality and diversity in cinema and audiovisual.
The head of the CNC, which provides financial support for creation and authors, was appointed in 2019 by the president and reappointed to his duties for a new three-year term in July 2022, more than a year after his indictment in this case.
“The President of the Republic will thus have played into the hands of the RN”
The 52-year-old filmmaker and actress, who has become the spearhead of a new MeToo wave in French cinema after filing a complaint against filmmakers Benoît Jacquot and Jacques Doillon for “rape of a minor”, also attacked the Minister of Culture Rachida Dati, “who nevertheless claims to position herself on the side of the victims”.
She criticized him for having “paid tribute” to Dominique Boutonnat last May during the Cannes Film Festival, “in front of an audience of professionals”. The minister had in fact thanked the president of the institution for “his excellent work in favor of the CNC”, as reported by Télérama. “Once again, denial, in-betweenness,” slammed Judith Godrèche on Friday.
The actress and director also suggested that the CNC boss’s continued position until now had delayed the choice of his replacement, a decision that may now fall to the National Rally, if the latter comes to power following the legislative elections on Sunday, June 30 and July 7, in which it is the big favorite. “Having supported Boutonnat until the verdict means that it could be the next Minister of Culture who chooses his successor at the head of the CNC,” she wrote.
“On this ground too, the President of the Republic will have played into the hands of the RN,” rebuked the actress, who in recent days has strongly criticized the program of the far-right party, but also Emmanuel’s risky bet Macron to dissolve the National Assembly. “On this ground too, it is up to us to mobilize so that the CNC defends democratic values – including against VSS (sexual and gender-based violence) “, she concludes, in what looks like a call to vote.
Following the resignation of Dominique Boutonnat, Rachida Dati entrusted “the interim presidency of the CNC to its current deputy general director, Olivier Henrard”, according to a message sent to the organization’s agents. This appointment must still be validated by Emmanuel Macron at the next Council of Ministers, but the cards could indeed be reshuffled at the end of the vote, and Judith Godrèche is not the only one in the sector to be worried about the possibility to see a far-right personality arrive at the helm of the CNC.
As early as February, Judith Godrèche had denounced before the Senators the implementation of training against sexual violence by the CNC in “a building, an institution whose president is himself accused of sexual violence”. In an interview with Le Parisien at the same time, she had also considered that it was “a symbol to have at the head of this institution a man who, even if he has not yet been judged, is under investigation”.
In mid-May, the filmmaker demonstrated alongside activists and professionals in the sector in front of the CNC headquarters, to demand the withdrawal of its president. “Justice must do its job and it is not up to us to take a position,” retorted Leslie Thomas, secretary general of the institution.
