Film industry turmoil: Directors Jacquot and Dillon detained amid French wave of #metoo allegations
The police detained Benoît Jacquot and Jacques Doillon after Judith Godrèche accused them of violence and sexual harassment in February, thus igniting the French wave of #metoo.
According to French media, the two men are being questioned by the Paris branch of the French Juvenile Protection Brigade. The actress and director Judith Godrèche decided to publicise the sexual harassment she experienced in the film industry when she was a teenager this February.
During the César Awards (the so-called French Oscars), she appealed to the French film industry from the stage to break the silence of the conspiracy and stop protecting powerful men.
"I know it's scary," she said. "Losing grants. Losing roles. Losing your job. Me too. I'm scared too. I quit school at 15, I don't have a high school diploma, nothing. It would be complicated to be blacklisted from everything." She added that fear had driven her for 30 years.
Judith Godrèche accuses of harassment and rape
Today, the 51-year-old woman claims that no one in the French film industry responded when the then 39-year-old Jacquot became involved with her when she was only 14 and controlled her entirely. She accused Doillon of forcing her to perform 45 sex scenes with him that were not in the script. She was 15 at the time.
According to French law, suspects can be detained for up to 48 hours. Both directors have hired lawyers and denied the allegations against them.
