French actress details 'rape' accusations against Jacquot in book

French actress Isild Le Besco in a book published on Wednesday accused filmmaker Benoit Jacquot of raping her as a teenager but said she was not ready to file a legal complaint.

Her autobiography comes as French cinema is reeling from claims it has too long shrugged off sexual abuse and provided cover for the grooming of underage actresses.

Le Besco, 41, in February accused Jacquot of having a "destructive hold" over her during a relationship that started when she was 16 and he was 52.

She said it included "psychological and physical violence", but she did not mention rape. Jacquot has denied any physical violence against her.

Le Besco first spoke up after actor Judith Godreche, 52, accused the prominent arthouse director of raping her in a relationship that began when she was 14 and he 25 years her senior, allegations he also denies. A judicial investigation is ongoing.

Le Besco's lawyer at the time told AFP she too was thinking about filing a legal complaint.

But Le Besco, who acted in Jacquot's 2000 film "Sade", about the notorious libertine the Marquis de Sade when she was 16, in her book "Dire vrai" ("Telling the truth") said she was not ready.

"To say that Benoit raped me is obvious... I was a teenager and I gave him all my trust. He became my father, my mother, any figure of authority. In that, his rape was also incestuous," she said.

But "I do not want to again have to confront those dusty institutions, designed and governed by men... It's already so hard to write. To name (things). To confront one's troubles."

Since breaking her silence, Godreche has become a leading voice in France's #MeToo movement. In February, she urged the authorities to reform the French cinema industry to protect young actresses from sexual violence.

In another prominent case, the Paris prosecutor said on Monday that French screen legend Gerard Depardieu would be tried in October over accusations he sexually assaulted two women during film shoots, the latest in a litany of claims against him, all of which he denies.

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