Head of French CNC sentenced to three years in prison for sexual assault

Courtesy of Eric Bonté/CNC

Dominique Boutonnat, the president of the National Film Committee, France’s most powerful film institution, has been sentenced to three years in prison, two of them suspended, for sexual assault.

Boutonnat resigned from the CNC following the ruling of June 28 and will be replaced by Olivier Henrard. diversity has confirmed.

The judge’s decision appears to be stricter than the initial recommendation of the Paris prosecutor, who had called for a three-year suspended prison sentence on June 14. Boutonnat is expected to live under house arrest with an electronic ankle bracelet for a year, according to local reports.

Boutonnat was charged in February 2021 for the alleged sexual abuse of his then 19-year-old godson in August 2020 while on holiday in Greece. But despite the charges, Boutonnat was re-elected by the French government in 2022 and served a second term that was due to end next year.

Boutonnat has previously denied all allegations and is expected to appeal the verdict. diversity has asked Boutonnat’s lawyer Emmanuel Marsigny for comment. The CNC responded to the ruling in a statement to diversity It said the “allegations concern privacy and have nothing to do with the activities of the CNC, whose functioning was not affected by the conduct of the legal proceedings.”

The film producer, who has close ties to French President Emmanuel Macron, has been sharply criticized by an investigative article in Liberation and a petition calling for his impeachment on the eve of the Cannes Film Festival. The petition has collected more than 4,551 anonymous signatures and is supported by various organizations, including Collectif 50/50, MeTooMédia and the CGT Spectacle union, as well as actress and director Judith Godrèche, the latter of whom sparked a #MeToo reckoning in France after accusing filmmakers Benoit Jacquot and Jacques Doillon of sexually abusing her when she was a teenager.

While Boutonnat was allowed to remain at the helm of the National Film Board, the film authority issued several policies, including workshops for film professionals aimed at combating sexual violence. At a Senate hearing earlier this week, Godrèche said the situation at the CNC reflected the country’s reticence towards the #MeToo movement. But France’s culture minister Rachida Dati had argued that Boutonnat should stay in office because he was presumed innocent.

Even if he had not been sentenced to prison, Boutonnat’s second term in the CNC would likely have ended prematurely due to the ongoing political unrest in the country. The verdict comes at a time when Macron’s government is facing a radical challenge from the rapidly rising popularity of the far-right Rassemblement National party. The first snap parliamentary elections will be held on Sunday following Macron’s surprise decision to dissolve the National Assembly.