Emmanuel Macron assures that he “never defended an attacker against victims” | EUROtoday

Published on : 08/05/2024 – 16:15Modified : 08/05/2024 – 17:29

3 minutes

I’ve “never defended an aggressor against victims”, assured Emmanuel Macron, relating to the Gérard Depardieu affair, Wednesday May 8, in an interview with Elle journal. The actor will probably be tried subsequent October in Paris for sexual assault on two girls throughout filming in 2021. He has additionally been indicted since 2020 for rape and sexual assault on a younger actress, Charlotte Arnould. Several different complaints have been filed towards the 75-year-old actor, who denies the details with which he’s accused.

At the tip of December, earlier than the actor was summoned to courtroom, Emmanuel Macron defended the actor, hailing a “huge actor” who “makes France proud”, and denouncing “a manhunt”.

“There is no complacency among me,” assured the President of the Republic in Elle, the place he covers a number of topics thought-about vital for ladies. “Just a desire to respect our principles, such as the presumption of innocence. These same principles which will allow justice to rule next October and that is a good thing,” he added.

See additionallySamuel Blumenfeld: “We will never see Depardieu in the cinema again!”

The Head of State assured that he had “deep respect, goodwill and great confidence for and in the words of women” and stated he was “uncompromising on the issue of rape, domination, this culture of brutality”.

“My priority has always been the protection of victims”

“My priority has always been the protection of victims, and this is also the case for the Depardieu affair,” he continued.

Hailing “the courage” of actresses Judith Godrèche, Juliette Binoche and Isild le Besco, who denounced sexual violence within the cinema trade, Emmanuel Macron underlines that “the highlighting of the truth is done through free speech, through work of journalists, through the work of investigators, then, alone, establishes guilt,” he added.

See also“Women's rights are never acquired, we must remain vigilant throughout our lives”

Emmanuel Macron also recalled his intention to change the definition of rape in France by integrating the notion of consent. Parliamentarians are “engaged on the topic with the Minister of Justice so {that a} proposed textual content can see the sunshine of day by the tip of the yr”, he stated.

Carried by the #MeToo shockwave, voices have been raised for a number of months for France to combine the notion of consent into its regulation, like different European nations.

The #MeToo motion “reassured me, made me doubt, revealed things to me,” he admitted.

With AFP