A resident of the Comédie-Française has been summoned by the institution for a “prior interview with a view to his dismissal”, the latter announced on Wednesday January 15. The reason? The institution learned that the actor had made “death threats” in particular against the environmentalist MP Sandrine Rousseau.
A first conviction for similar facts
In June 2021, this 52-year-old actor, Nâzim Boudjenah, had already been sentenced in Paris to a six-month suspended prison sentence for death threats made in 2019 and 2020 against a former girlfriend, Marie Coquille-Chambel.
Read also >> Anna Mouglalis denounces violence in cinema: “It’s hell”
Despite this first conviction, he still remained an employee of the Comédie-Française, although he was subject to “a removal order”. In fact, he no longer played within the institution according to Éric Ruf, its general administrator.
Revelations of Sandrine Rousseau in full commission
Finally, new problematic behavior was brought “to the attention of the Comédie-Française” during the hearing, Monday January 13, of Éric Ruf before the commission of inquiry of the National Assembly into the violence committed in the cinema and live performance sectors, according to the institution’s press release.
During this exchange, the president of the commission, Sandrine Rousseau, testified to the fact that this actor had, in July 2024, “also made death threats” against her. “Which pushed me to file a complaint against him, to report it to the prosecutor,” she added. Contacted by the newspaper “Libération”, the MP specifies that the actor “made publications on X (formerly Twitter)” where he threatens to put her in a “bath of acid” or even promises to assault her.
According to her testimony, she claims to have already encountered him near the National Assembly and also affirms that she does not know the individual. During this chance meeting, Nâzim Boudjenah allegedly questioned the MP, presenting himself to her as the author of the death threats against her. The trial between him and the actor will take place on June 6, according to our colleagues from “Libération”.
Still employed, but far from the institution
During the parliamentary committee, the environmentalist MP therefore questioned Éric Ruf about this actor. The administrator confirmed that the latter was still an employee of the Comédie Française but that he had “implemented a distancing measure”. But after this exchange, the affair took a new turn this Wednesday, January 15, because the actor will now probably lose his position.
In any case, this is what was announced in the press release from the Comédie-Française which specifies that it has “already taken measures against this employee by immediately removing him from the sets”. Finally, the institution “firmly refutes the allegations of inertia, since it has put in place all the necessary measures to prevent and protect the health and safety of its employees, which is at the heart of its daily concerns. She reaffirms her total support for victims of gender-based and sexual violence.”
