Since the emergence of the Me Too movement in 2017 in the United States with the accusations against film producer Harvey Weinstein, dozens of complaints and cases of sexual violence by men in positions of power in various circles (politics, sports, media, culture, the arts …) have come to light in France. These include cases involving Patrick Poivre d’Arvor, Gérard Depardieu, Olivier Duhamel, Jean Marc Morandini, Nicolas Hulot, Luc Besson and Damien Abad.
In 2018, actress Charlotte Arnould filed the first complaint against Gérard Depardieu, and in 2019, Adèle Haenel spoke out against the sexual assaults of director Christophe Ruggia. Yet it was only with Judith Godrèche’s recent denunciations of director Benoît Jacquot and the broadcast of the program Complément d’enquête devoted to Gérard Depardieu that the idea of a #MeToo in French cinema emerged in 2024.
Ifop conducted a survey for ELLE magazine to gauge the state of public opinion on the #MeToo movement in France, and in particular on the most high-profile cases involving men of power. Carried out between February 16 and 19, 2024, among a representative sample of 2,056 French people aged 18 and over, the survey reveals a number of findings that are developed in this analysis, published by the Fondation Jean Jaurès.
First and foremost, it reveals that the French have a great deal of empathy for women who denounce sexist and sexual violence (SGBV) perpetrated by men in positions of power, as well as strong expectations that these cases should be handled by the justice system. Finally, it shows that, while the dynamic of awareness of sexist and sexual violence affects all French people, the evolution of mentalities is taking place at variable rates, with marked differences between genders and political positions.
