Two prominent film directors have been arrested in France over allegations of sexual abuse
- Judith Godreche, 52, accuses Jacquot of rape and Doillon of sexual abuse
- Benoit Jacquot, 77, and Jacques Doillon, 80, have both denied the allegations
Prominent film directors Benoit Jacquot and Jacques Doillon have been arrested by French police for questioning over sexual abuse allegations, sources close to the case said.
Jacquot, 77, and Doillon, 80, were seen arriving at a police station in Paris on Monday morning with their lawyers.
Actress and director Judith Godreche has formally accused Jacquot of rape and Doillon of sexual assault when she was a minor.
The 52-year-old has described Jacquot as having an unhealthy “hold” on her during a relationship with him that began when she was 14, from 1986 to 1992.
She has accused Doillon of abuse on set when she starred in one of his films. The men have each denied the allegations.
Benoit Jacquot, 77, has denied actress and director Judith Godreche’s accusations against him
Jacques Doillon, 80, has been accused by Godreche of abuse when she was on set for one of his films. He denies the accusations
Fellow actor Isild Le Besco, 41, has also formally accused Jacquot of raping her between 1998 and 2007 during a toxic relationship that began when she was 16 and he was 52.
Actor Julia Roy, 34, has also filed a complaint against him for sexual abuse, during “a context of violence and moral coercion that lasted several years,” a source close to the case said.
The director’s lawyers said there was no reason to hold them for questioning, stressing that they should be presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Jacquot’s attorney, Julia Minkowski, said her client would “finally be able to speak out before the law.”
Doillon’s lawyer, Marie Dose, said there was no legal criterion that justified his detention for questioning “36 years” after the incident, as claimed by Godreche.
According to sources close to the matter, their interrogation could include a confrontation with the person or persons accusing them.
Godreche wrote on Instagram that she was deeply moved that the police had finally summoned the two directors.
“I’m crying… Of all this… I don’t know if I have the strength, but I will. I will… For her,” she wrote, posting a photo of herself as a teenager next to Jacquot, 25 years her senior.
Actress and director Judith Godreche has formally accused Jacquot of rape and Doillon of sexual abuse when she was a minor
‘I’m crying… Of all this… I don’t know if I have the strength, but I will. I will have it… For her,” Godreche wrote on Instagram, posting a photo of herself as a teenager next to Jacquot, 25 years her senior.
Godreche was 14 when she met Jacquot, then 39, in 1986 on the set of his film Les Mendiants.
The World reports that they had an “intimate relationship” for six years.
The actress has since accused him of predatory behavior and of “forcible rape of a minor under the age of 15, committed by a person in authority.”
The French film industry has been rocked by accusations that it covered abuse for too long, including a series of accusations against 75-year-old film legend Gerard Depardieu, all of which he denies.
Since breaking her silence, Godreche has become an important voice in France’s #MeToo movement.
After calling for an oversight body for the film industry, parliament voted in May to establish a commission to investigate sexual and gender-based violence in the film industry and other cultural sectors.