French authorities detained leading film directors Benoît Jacquot and Jacques Doillon on Monday for questioning over accusations of sexual abuse, sources close to the case said.
An AFP journalist saw both men, who have denied the allegations, arrive at a police station in Paris on Monday morning, accompanied by their lawyers.
Actor and director Judith Godrèche, 52, has formally accused Jacquot of rape and Doillon of sexual assault when she was a minor, accusations both men deny. She has described Jacquot of having an unhealthy “hold” over her during a relationship that started when she was 14, and lasted from 1986 to 1992. She has accused Doillon of abuse on set when she acted in one of his films.
Lawyers for Jacquot and Doillon said it was not necessary to detain the men while they were being questioned, and stressed that they should be considered innocent until proven guilty. Jacquot’s lawyer, Julia Minkowski, said her client would “finally be able to express himself before the law”. Doillon’s attorney, Marie Dose, said no legal criteria could justify his being detained for questioning “36 years” after the incident alleged by Godrèche. The sources close to the case said their interrogation could include a confrontation with the person or persons accusing them.
Godrèche wrote on Instagram that she was deeply moved that police had finally summoned the two directors. “I’m crying … From all this … I don’t know if I have the strength but I will have it. I will have it … For her,” she wrote, posting a picture of her teenage self next to Jacquot, who is 25 years her senior.
The French film industry is reeling from accusations that it has too long provided cover for abuse, amid a series of allegations, including those against actor Gérard Depardieu, 75, all of which he denies. Since breaking her silence, Godrèche has become a leading voice in France’s #MeToo movement. After she appealed for a cinema oversight body, parliament in May voted to create a commission to investigate sexual and gender-based violence in the film industry and other cultural sectors.