Prominent director targeted by French cinema’s #MeToo wave accused of raping and assaulting actors

PARIS – A French judge has filed preliminary charges against a well-known French film director for rape, sexual assault and violence in a case involving female actors, the Paris prosecutor’s office said on Thursday.

Benoît Jacquot, who has directed more than 50 films and television series since the 1970s, has become one of the most prominent figures in a late-stage reappraisal of the problems of sexual violence and physical abuse within and outside the French film industry.

French actress Judith Godrèche claims Jacquot raped and abused her in a six-year relationship that began when she was 14. She has taken a leading role in initiating the #MeToo wave, with the movement struggling to gain ground before she spoke out publicly earlier this year and encouraged other actors to do the same.

Prosecutors in Paris said the judge investigating allegations against Jacquot, made by actor Isild Le Besco and another actor, whom the Associated Press did not name, presented him with a set of preliminary charges on Wednesday after he was detained for police questioning earlier this week. In France, such charges are brought when a judge has ruled there is serious and accumulated evidence that crimes may have been committed, allowing further investigation before deciding whether to press charges.

The AP does not normally release the names of victims of sexual violence. Le Besco, 41, has already spoken publicly on French television and other media, as well as in a book, about her relationship with the director, which began when she was a teenager and who is 35 years her senior.

A statement from prosecutors said Jacquot was charged with raping Le Besco when she was a minor. The rape occurred over a two-year period beginning in 1998. Jacquot was also named as an assisted witness, a special status under French law, for the alleged rape of Le Besco by a partner that lasted for 10 months in 2007.

The AP could not confirm whether the other actor, named by Paris prosecutors as another of Jacquot’s alleged rape victims, has agreed to be publicly identified. The actor’s lawyer, Margot Pugliese, did not immediately respond to written and telephone requests for comment.

Prosecutors said Jacquot was charged with raping the actress in 2013 during a year-long relationship. He was also charged with sexually abusing the actress in 2018, when they were still together, and with violence against her in 2018 and 2019.

Jacquot was also named as an assisted witness in connection with the alleged rape of the actor by one of his partners between 2014 and 2018, prosecutors said.

Jacquot will remain free until the investigation is completed, but must undergo psychological treatment, prosecutors said. He is also prohibited from contacting his alleged victims and witnesses. He is also prohibited from working as a director or in any other capacity with minors. He was also sentenced to bail of 25,000 euros ($27,000).

Jacquot, 77, has previously denied the allegations against him. In a statement that did not directly address the charges, Jacquot’s lawyer Julia Minkowski said the case had been overly publicized in the media and that the director had not been given access to the evidence when he was questioned by police, despite French law allowing this “in cases of flagrant violations of the presumption of innocence.”

“The investigation is still at an early stage and it was extremely premature to submit it to an investigating judge,” the lawyer said in a statement.

She condemned the ban that excludes Jacquot from his work as a director and which also entails restrictions on his public appearances.

“More than a ban on practicing a profession, this is a real measure of judicial annulment, based on a preliminary investigation and before a verdict. We will of course appeal,” she said.

Another French director, 80-year-old Jacques Doillon, was also taken in for police questioning but was later released for medical reasons, the Paris prosecutor’s office said.

Godrèche has accused Doillon of sexual abuse when he directed a film she made when she was 15. Doillon has previously denied the allegation.