Several feminist associations had called for demonstrations against the arrival of Ary Abittan at the Casino Barrière in Bordeaux this Saturday evening. A little more than twenty people challenged the audience of the comedian accused of rape. The case, in which he obtained a dismissal in April 2024, should be retried on appeal.
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Funny atmosphere this Saturday evening in front of the Casino Barrière. The spectators cross the threshold of the performance hall to the jeers of around twenty women. They gathered on both sides of the safety straps, offering a strange guard of honor to the visitors who came this evening to attend a comedy show.
“Ouuh…. Rape. Does that make you laugh?, That's rape culture! Shame on you!, Well done for the victims…” They challenge the spectators, but it is the comedian that they are angry with. He who, according to them, would have made a mockery in his show “Authentique”, his time in police custody in 2021 while he was being prosecuted for rape.
They are not that numerous, but they make a lot of noise and the slogans hit the mark. Their signs read “Laugh at rape”, “Ary Abittan authentic rapist” or even “Let's separate the man from the artist”…
A “welcome committee” awaited spectators this Saturday evening in front of the Casino Barrière in Bordeaux.
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© France 3 Aquitaine
The event is the initiative of the Bordeaux feminist Collages collective and brings together around fifteen feminist associations. One of the demonstrators, who also continues to denounce the dismissal, insists: “his place is not in the theater”! “He laughs about it through his show, she is indignant. What message are we sending to society? Impunity? This is spitting in the faces of the victims!”
It gives a message to men. It legitimizes their violence…
A protesterBordeaux feminist collage collective
Around 8 p.m., a few minutes before the curtain rises. The public approaches, little by little, and braves the cries of the demonstrators. Some, visibly uncomfortable at being taken to task, lower their heads and rush into the theater. Others respond with provocations and rude gestures or accuse each other of anti-Semitism… Enough to come to blows on one or two occasions. Fights were quickly discouraged by the police present on the scene.
This is not the first time that collectives have rebelled against shows by Ary Abittan or other artists involved in cases of sexual assault. During the comedian's visit to Lyon on January 15, the collective “Nous tous Rhône” also denounced the fact that the comedian continues to perform on stage while joking about his police custody.
The comedian had been accused of rape by a 23-year-old young woman, who had filed a complaint in October 2021. Indicted, then placed under the status of assisted witness, he benefited from a dismissal of the charges in April 2024. The plaintiff's lawyer appealed this dismissal.
