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CULTURE

Depardieu behaviour ‘shames France’: culture minister

French actor Gerard Depardieu is under increasing pressure following the release of a new documentary.

Published: 16 December 2023 09:54 CET
French actor Gerard Depardieu is once again in the firing line.
French actor Gerard Depardieu is once again in the firing line. (Photo by Anne-Christine POUJOULAT / AFP)

The behaviour of French cinema superstar Gerard Depardieu, charged with rape and facing new scrutiny after sexist comments were broadcast in a television documentary, shames France, the culture minister said on Friday.

Culture Minister Rima Abdul-Malak also said that the Grand Chancery of the Legion of Honour would initiate a “disciplinary procedure” to decide whether to strip Depardieu of the country’s top honour.

Depardieu, 74, was charged with rape in 2020 and has also faced 13 accusations of sexual harassment or assault.

A documentary titled “The Fall of the Ogre” shows the actor on a 2018 trip to North Korea repeatedly making explicit sexual comments in the presence of a female interpreter and sexualising a small girl riding a horse. It was aired last week on France 2 television.

“Directors will decide if he has roles in films in the future or not,” Abdul-Malak told reporters in the southern town of Moissac.

“I don’t think he has many offers arriving now on his desk.”

READ MORE: French film star faces backlash after sexually suggestive comments

She said the comments broadcast in the France 2 report were “absolutely shocking” and she was “disgusted” by his behaviour.

She denounced “an attitude which is intended to be joking and provocative, but is in fact disrespectful and undignified and shames France, because he is a monument of cinema throughout the world.”

‘Disciplinary procedure’

Speaking on France 5, the culture minister indicated the actor might be stripped of the Legion of Honour he received from then president Jacques Chirac in 1996.

“A Legion of Honour distinguishes a man, an artist, an attitude, values,” she said.

“It so happens that I spoke with the Grand Chancellor of the Legion of Honour, General (Francois) Lecointre,” she said, adding that a “disciplinary procedure” would be initiated to decide whether the award should be revoked.

“It will be up to them to decide,” she said. “It’s important to raise this issue.”

At the same time she said the French would not stop watching films featuring Depardieu.

The actor — who has more than 200 titles to his name, including 1990 comedy “Green Card” and Netflix series “Marseille” — has denied any wrongdoing.

“Never ever have I abused a woman,” he wrote in Le Figaro newspaper in October.

The Canadian province of Quebec on Wednesday stripped Depardieu of its top honour over his “scandalous” comments against women in the France 2 report.

French investigators are also looking into the death of an actress who was one of the first to accuse Depardieu of sexual assault, prosecutors said this week.

Several media outlets have reported that Emmanuelle Debever died by suicide aged 60 on December 7, the day the France 2 documentary was aired.

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LIVING IN FRANCE

5 tips to have the best possible night at France’s Fête de la musique

It can be the most fun day of the year - when France goes music crazy and bands suddenly appear on every street corner - but there are some tips to make your Fête de la musique experience as good as it can possibly be.

Published: 24 June 2024 11:26 CEST
5 tips to have the best possible night at France's Fête de la musique

First, a caveat – this is an entirely personal manifesto based on the things that I have enjoyed over my Fête de la Musique outings over the years. It’s not intended as any kind of hard-and-fast rule and plenty of people will have different experiences.

Feel free to disagree and/or share your festival tips in the comments section below!

1 Ignore the big-name artists

There are always a few big-name artists or concerts in major venues on the Fête de la musique (which happens every year on June 21st).

Ignore them. Sure, stadiums gigs can be great and huge venues can have a wonderful atmosphere – but you can do that any night of the year. It’s not what Fête de la musique is about.

The true spirit of the Fête is the smaller acts who play on street corners, in bars and community venues. They’re free, you can wander between them and stay as long as you like – and there is always something else around the corner.

2 Ignore the big towns

You might think that the big cities have the best music, but if you have the choice, go for a small town or a suburb.

I’ve enjoyed some good Fêtes in Paris, but the best experiences had have been smaller towns or the Paris’ suburbs (Montreuil is good – a commune that carefully cultivates a small-town / village vibe, albeit a very diverse small town where everyone is a hippy, a leftist, or both).

It’s partly a practicality thing – in big cities the acts are spread out and you have to make plans to see something and meet up with friends. In small towns, you just wander along to the main square, then when you’ve seen the acts there, you can saunter up the side streets, each of which will have dozens of bands playing, pausing only to grab a beer and snacks.

But it’s also the vibe; in big cities you can hear good live music all the time and the population is consequently complacent – small towns truly appreciate the Fête de la musique and properly go wild.

Once, in Paris, I was watching a blues band play in the street when a woman tipped water on their heads from her apartment window because she was tired and wanted to go to sleep. Small towns appreciate it when bands play for them.

3 Experiment

There’s a lot of variety on the night, so take advantage – this is your opportunity to hear all kinds of live music from rock to swing, jazz to classical, choirs to DJs.

Didn’t think that a five-piece oud band is your thing? Fête de la musique may change your mind. It’s the night of the year when anything goes, musically, so it’s also the night to try something new.

If you hate it – well it’s free and there’s another band down the street that might be more your thing. But you might discover a lifetime passion for oud music – in fact, by this time next year you might be playing in the oud band. Thanks to the Fête de la musique.

4 Don’t insist on quality

You’ll hear some great bands, but you’ll also hear some that are more about enthusiasm – and that’s all part of the fun.

You’re going to be hearing everything from classic rock to reggae to blues to the above-mentioned five-piece oud band, and as well as the styles the quality may be variable to.

For me, the true spirit of Fête de la musique is the 50-year-old accountant rocking out on his guitar and enjoying the one night of the year when he can dream that if only he hadn’t given up on his high school band, he could now be rich, famous and selling out stadiums, as opposed to filing tax declarations in an office above the florist.

5 Dress comfortably

Some people like to dress up for the Fête and that’s great – it’s a party after all – but the key thing is to wear something that is comfortable and allows you to shake your stuff.

Yes, you will be dancing – you’ll be dancing on street corners, in parks, cafés and perhaps on street furniture if things really get going, and you’ll be dancing with kids, dapper 70-year-old gents and everyone in between.

You need comfortable shoes and clothes that you can really move in.

Dance like no-one is watching. They may be watching, but they won’t be judging. Much. It’s Fête de la musique.

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