Dominique Boutonnat, France’s CNC president, faces a suspended sentence

Dominique Boutonnat, president of the National Film Committee, France’s most powerful film institution, was put on trial on June 14 for alleged sexual assault. He faces a three-year suspended prison sentence.

Boutonnat was charged in February 2021 for the alleged sexual assault of his then 19-year-old godson in August 2020 while on holiday in Greece. On Friday, the prosecutor at the Nanterre courthouse requested a three-year suspended sentence against Boutonnat, who is currently serving a second mandate as president of the CNC. He was re-elected by the French government in 2022 despite being accused of sexual assault a year earlier. He has denied all allegations. The CNC said in a statement to diversity that 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 criticised by an investigative article in Liberation and a petition calling for his impeachment on the eve of the Cannes Film Festival. The petition has so far collected 4,551 anonymous signatures and is supported by various organisations, including Collectif 50/50, MeTooMédia and the CGT Spectacle union, as well as by actress and director Judith Godrèche, who sparked a #MeToo revision in France after accusing filmmakers Benoit Jacquot and Jacques Doillon of sexually abusing her when she was a teenager.

The petition highlighted the irony of keeping Boutonnat at the head of the National Film Board when the film body has introduced several measures to combat sexual violence, including workshops for film professionals. 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 argued that Boutonnat should stay in office because he is presumed innocent. Some insiders have pointed out that even if Boutonnat is found guilty of sexual assault, he may even have the option of ending his mandate as it does not concern his professional role, and he is expected to appeal the verdict.