Actress Judith Godrèche Leads Protests Calling For Resignation Of CNC Head Dominique Boutonnat

Zac Ntim
·2 min read
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French actress and activist Judith Godreche is among a group of protestors who have set up a demonstration outside the CNC in Paris this morning calling for the organization’s head Dominique Boutonnat to be suspended.

Images of the protest began circulating widely on social media this morning and show Godreche alongside other demonstrators holding a banner outside the CNC that reads “Separate the man from the CNC.”

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We first reported on impromptu plans by French industry insiders to host a demonstration at the CNC against Boutonnat yesterday alongside a petition that was launched also calling for his dismissal.

The petition was launched by an anonymous group of activists Sunday afternoon who have said they belong to several French industry unions, including Collectif 50/50 and CGT Spectacle. The petition is private, so it is not possible to see who has signed. But the total number now sits at 1300.

The petition refers to two recent articles in the French newspaper Libération, which explore the legal trial Boutonnat is set to face in June over sexual assault allegations. Boutonnat has been under investigation for two years after being indicted in February 2021 for an alleged sexual assault. In September 2022, the case was taken to trial. Boutonnat denies all charges.

“If Dominique Boutonnat benefits from the presumption of innocence, it nevertheless seems essential to us that our main institution sets an example,” the petition reads.

“At a time when we are questioning our practices, and when a commission of inquiry into sexist and sexual violence and harassment in our professions has just been voted on, we regret that the incongruity of this situation ends up definitively discrediting his action and the proposals he is about to make.”

The petition ends: “The whole of society is watching us. Our progress, our revolutions will benefit everyone. Let’s live up to it.”

Boutonnat was first appointed CNC President in 2019. France’s government then gave him a second term in 2022 — after his indictment. The controversial appointment came after France’s new Culture Minister Rima Abdul Malak expressed her support for him. His current term runs down next year.

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