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00:00For more, let's go to the northern French city of Lille, Rebecca Leffler is the France correspondent for screen international magazine
00:07Thank you for being with us here on France 24
00:11The French have an expression for
00:15Larger-than-life characters a monster sacred a sacred monster
00:20That's not a pejorative term. It's a term that I guess you could say of
00:26Respect
00:28Gerard Depardieu was for a long time a sacred monster in the film industry
00:33Well, it's interesting because there is a double meaning to monster
00:37They mean it I guess in a positive way and I guess his image especially internationally has taken
00:43Taking a turn downhill. I guess you could say in recent days months years
00:49There have been plenty of incidents unrelated to even the me too issue that is being
00:56Addressed now in trial, but there is drunk driving there was peeing in the aisle of an airplane
01:03He hasn't it hasn't been
01:05Kind to him, but he is really at the center
01:09He's definitely there have been other obviously the French meet you movement has you know?
01:13Taken on a life of its own and recently other than other trials Christophe Bourget, for example
01:19But he's the most high-profile the most well-known
01:23Internationally for sure, so it'll be really interesting
01:26I think the eyes of the whole industry and I think meet you movement in France and I think the world will be on
01:33Looking at what's going to happen here. It's been several decades Rebecca since the hit Hollywood movie green card
01:40where he came in for criticism for
01:44Admitting in an interview with Time magazine that he had taken part in a gang rape when he was a youth
01:51And and yet in France
01:54That didn't tarnish him for years
01:57Well, that's what's very interesting about how me too has been kind of slow
02:02Coming to France, you know, you remember even if you've someone you're mentioning
02:07Fanny Arnaud and Catherine Deneuve that have defended him Dominique Besnard one of France's biggest agents just defended him last week
02:15But because of all of this it's been slow and kind of like everything French
02:19It's been late, but it's it's been quite effective recently the CNC
02:24France's National Film Commission has
02:27Really taken strides among a lot of different players in the industry. There's a new
02:33committee on the CNC that first of all anyone who's involved in a film set now from the director to the actors to
02:40Every crew member has to go through mandatory training to prevent such incidents of sexual harassment and sexual violence on on film set
02:47So they're doing a lot for prevention
02:49And I think that the entire industry now, I think things have really really changed that
02:55Major come from everyone from major companies to smaller indie productions are really taking, you know victims
03:01Words into consideration and the idea is that it you know
03:06Gerard Depardieu even Dominique Besnard when he went before this this committee the CNC that's looking into everything
03:12And summoning different people in the industry to kind of and they're something more so they're going to give a report at France's National Assembly
03:19hopefully soon
03:20To kind of assess where everything is
03:23It's it's going to be really interesting because things I think the the public perception
03:28I think the way that things are done in film have changed and this was 20 only 2021 which wasn't so long ago
03:34But I think even since then such behavior
03:38Won't be tolerated on many different different levels, but it'll be interesting to see if legally
03:44How how France reacts to this France which has one of the world's largest film industries?
03:53Mm-hmm. Oh, yes. Absolutely. I mean the French film industry now is France actually has this whole
03:59Ecosystem of film where even though cinema has kind of been struggling
04:04Theaters are struggling to bring audiences back France had a you know, a stellar
04:092024 181 million tickets sold and
04:13It's a it's a really a thriving industry and and Depardieu was I would say he's probably
04:19Francis one of the most famous actors out of France if not the most famous, especially internationally
04:25And there is the question of you know, you're you're mentioning how it has divided people and there are those who say I mean
04:32That's what Macron had been saying that well, you know, maybe he's done all these things
04:36But he's a great actor and we don't want to tarnish his his legacy and he just mentioned he wants to clear his name
04:42So the question has always been whether it's Roman Polanski whether it's even Woody Allen in France
04:48They've been I guess considered differently than in other in other places and the debate is how do you separate?
04:55Do you separate the artists from the person?
04:58And then of course there you know different has been accused by some 20 women now of different
05:04Sexual assault on different levels and this is the first to actually go to trial first to actually go to trial
05:10It's one quick quick final question for you. Rebecca left was you mentioned the French president?
05:15We saw a clip of that from that 2023 interview where he defended
05:19Gerald a pal do what did you make of it? Then? Why did Emmanuel Macron do that?
05:25Well, I think it's it's a very I guess a very French perspective that you know, he's such a
05:31he's been in so many films that have really defined French cinema and have defined France and to then
05:38so so he his argument was such that you know, you can't say that he's not a great artist and
05:46He still should represent. It was a question of whether to not take away his is
05:51medal of Medal of Honor and
05:53The question is well just just because he's done these things
05:57It doesn't tarnish an entire lifetime of artistic
06:02Work and so that's that's I guess the debate and obviously he's the president of France
06:08So I got a lot of backlash and there are a lot of people who say no, you know, we can't celebrate him
06:13I think a lot of network, you know
06:15The questions of the end of France television has had this this this issue where what do you if you stop showing?
06:21Jarred the purdue films or if no one is watching them
06:24Then you're punishing not only him but in industry and everyone involved in the film and the director and the actors
06:32but at the same time there's a difference between just airing one of his films and and
06:37Celebrating him. So I think that's a question that
06:41We'll see what happens moving forward
06:42I mean the the judicial system may come out and say that this is justice and he didn't do anything wrong
06:48And then that will of course enter enter the conversation
06:52Times have changed in the industry. You say many. Thanks Rebecca left her for being with us from Lille
06:57Thank you. We both saw her been sorry