Around fifty personalities from the world of culture denounce a “lynching” of Gérard Depardieu in a column published Monday evening, December 25 on the Figaro website. The actor, indicted for rape since 2020, is at the heart of a scandal that has become political-media following a documentary broadcast on France 2 on December 7.
Among the signatories of the platform are the director Bertrand Blier, the actresses Nathalie Baye, Carole Bouquet and Charlotte Rampling, the actors Jacques Weber, Pierre Richard and Gérard Darmon, as well as the singers Roberto Alagna, Carla Bruni, Arielle Dombasle and Jacques Dutronc.
“Gérard Depardieu is probably the greatest actor. The last sacred monster of cinema. We can no longer remain silent in the face of the lynching that fell upon him, in the face of the torrent of hatred that pours down on his person, without nuance, in the most complete amalgamation and in defiance of a presumption of innocence of which he would have benefited, like everyone else, if he were not the giant of cinema that he is,” they write in this text.
“When we attack Gérard Depardieu like this, it is art that we attack. Through his genius as an actor, Gérard Depardieu contributes to the artistic influence of our country. (…) Whatever happens, no one will ever be able to erase the indelible trace of his work which will forever mark our time. The rest, everything else, is about justice; than justice. Exclusively,” they add.
Support from Emmanuel Macron and those close to the actor
The President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron and members of the actor’s family, including his daughter Julie, had already spoken publicly to defend Gérard Depardieu, indicted following one of the two complaints he made object in France and which refutes these accusations.
The broadcast on December 7 of a report on the actor, in the program “Complément d’investigation” on France 2, caused a shock wave, with international repercussions. In these images, Gérard Depardieu, known for having played Cyrano de Bergerac, multiplies misogynistic and insulting remarks while addressing women, not sparing a little girl with comments of a sexual nature.
The France Télévisions group assured Friday that this last passage had been “authenticated” by a bailiff. This reaction came after statements by the Head of State on France 5 suggesting that the sequence could have been modified during editing, as the actor’s family had previously stated.
Since the scandal, Gérard Depardieu has been removed from the National Order of Quebec and his title of honorary citizen of the commune of Estaimpuis (Belgium), while his wax statue has been removed from the museum’s tour route. Grévin in Paris.
