Explosive report reveals culture of abuse in French in entertainment industry: Video

A French parliamentary commission has concluded that sexual violence is widespread and systemic across the country’s entertainment industry, following a six-month inquiry involving 350 individuals from cinema, television, and live performance sectors.

The investigation was launched after actress and filmmaker Judith Godrèche publicly accused two French directors of sexually abusing her when she was a teenager. Her testimony prompted lawmakers to launch an inquiry into the culture of abuse within the industry.

Led by Sandrine Rousseau, a Member of Parliament of the Europe Ecology – The Greens (EELV), the commission’s report highlights persistent abuse across multiple artistic disciplines. “Violence in the sectors studied, namely cinema, audiovisual, theater, dance, and music mainly, is persistent, it is endemic, and therefore, it is systemic. It is of any moral nature, sexist, sexual, economic, or physical,” Rousseau said.

The report criticises the entertainment industry as a “talent grinding machine” and includes 86 recommendations aimed at strengthening protections for performers, particularly children, on film and theatre sets, as reported by AFP.

The findings come shortly after the high-profile sexual assault trial of actor Gérard Depardieu—a significant moment in France’s reckoning with abuse in the entertainment world in the wake of the #MeToo movement.