#MeToo movement finally hits French cinema as sexual assault claims stack up
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00:00 French cinema is slowly emerging from a long-held silence,
00:04 as claim after claim surfaces of sexual assault in the film industry.
00:09 But more than six years after the #MeToo movement was ignited in Hollywood,
00:13 there are questions around what took France so long.
00:17 In France, cinema is considered to be art.
00:23 So there are no checks and balances, no unions.
00:27 So the director has free reign from the moment he is considered to be an author.
00:32 There are no checks on the set or any stage in the creative process.
00:37 Filmmaker Jacques Doyon has been accused of sexual violence by three separate actors,
00:45 Judith Caudrèche, Anna Mouglalis and Isilde Lebesgueux.
00:49 Actor Philippe Cobert faces allegations of sexual abuse by three women
00:54 who say they were minors at the time of the events.
00:56 And on Thursday, it was announced that the case that was said to catalyse #MeToo in French cinema
01:02 will go to trial, after a preliminary investigation was first opened in 2019
01:08 against director Christophe Rougeat following accusations from actress Adèle Hanel.
01:13 According to some, the revelations are symptomatic of a wider problem of sexism in the country.
01:19 We mustn't forget that violence against women affects all sectors.
01:24 So here, we see what's going on with cinema,
01:27 but we mustn't forget that it's not just linked with power and influence.
01:31 After decades of silence, French cinema is speaking out,
01:35 but it remains to be seen whether it will bring a new push to the broader #MeToo movement.
01:41 (upbeat music)