CANNES 2025: After light was shed on the scale of the sexual and sexist abuse in the French audiovisual landscape, a series of obligations are being implemented to tackle the situation

CNC president Gaëtan Bruel during the debate

Shortly after the start of this year's Cannes Film Festival, news about veteran French actor Gérard Depardieu’s sentence for two sexual abuse accusations was announced: 18 months on parole. His case was undeniably one of the most eagerly followed ones in recent years, and a certain disappointment with the outcome of the trial is not surprising. A panel organised by the CNC during the festival gave a few clues as to why the judicial process to deal with such accusations is such an arduous one.

As an introduction, CNC director Gaëtan Bruel made a rather emotional speech. "The domain of culture should lead by example. It is the one that is a bearer of identity and has the power to connect people, to comfort the soul. But still, for many people, it is a place of threat.“ As for the CNC’s perspective, he announced a zero-tolerance policy and a catalogue of prevention measures. "We have to act quickly. This is a disastrous situation that no one can ignore any more. We risk losing all credibility with our audiences.“

A short speech by Frédéric Olivennes, director of Audiens, a non-profit organisation defending the social and equal protection of members of people working in artistic creation, media and leisure, revealed some of the actual implications in this matter. "In 2024, we received more than 1,800 solicitations, more than 600 calls and offered 50% more psychological assistance than the year before. We installed a care hotline and are doing lobby work to get as many social and political institutions on board as possible.“ The aim is to create an environment in which victims can not only be heard, but also receive support on a psychological, financial and judicial level. Legal measures can take a very long time to get implemented and bring results; in the meantime, victims face considerable challenges. A member of the panel audience spoke bravely about the fact that she was a victim of assault, but her aggressor is still working and continues to exercise his power while everyone is waiting for the trial to begin.

The official investigations of the last five years, led by the French National Assembly and its Commission of Inquiry into violence in the film, audiovisual, live performance, fashion and advertising industries, show that the cultural sector bears many risks when it comes to sexism and sexual harassment. To discuss this, French politician Erwan Balanant, who is a member of the French parliament’s legislative commission, was invited. A first important step was to have very clear numbers, said Balanant. "It’s terrifying to look at the statistics and cases, but it has a very strong impact and shows there is a desperate need for actions." He participated in the collection of witnesses' declarations over the last few years. They start with auditions, in which people are very vulnerable. It’s there when the "machine of crushing talents“ is activated. "So many careers have been destroyed, such as those of Sara Forestier, who won two Césars in 2017, or Adèle Haenel, who is slowly coming back." For him, there is a mismatch between a world which produces such fantastic things, from which we expect empathy and goodwill, and the fact that it breaks the integrity of its members.

The commission released a 300-page-long report. Based on it, a catalogue of regulations shall follow on the parliamentary level, to encourage prevention and to pursue legal action where needed. Together with the CNC, a selection of measures has been implemented. For example, all productions now have the obligation to employ an intimacy coordinator, and all members of a film production must follow a specific formation on appropriate behaviour towards sexist and sexual harassment. This training is organised in two parts: the first is online, and the second has to be done by all crew members together in situ. A few producers present at the panel shared that they were on the whole favourable to these measures, but pointed out some of the difficulties in reuniting all crew members in time for such a workshop, since each department on a production is often working on different schedules. Some also said that these obligations increase production costs.

It seemed clear that challenges remained to implement a smoother process. But the commitment of the CNC, the politicians present – which also included Aurore Bergé, French Minister for Equality between Women and Men and for the Fight against Discriminations, who quoted Agnès Varda on several occasions – and the Cannes Film Festival through its first female president, Iris Knobloch, were striking. One only hopes that these measures will have more than a symbolic power.