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CRIME

French cinema boss on trial for sexual assault

The head of France's top cinema institution Dominique Boutonnat denied sexually assaulting his godson as he went on trial Friday in a case that has led to calls for him to step down.

Published: 15 June 2024 12:59 CEST
The unnamed godson of the Centre National du Cinema or National Centre of Cinema director Dominique Boutonnat arrives at Nanterre courthouse, north suburb of Paris, on June 14, 2024, as Boutonnat appears on trial for the sexual assault of his 21-year-old godson
The unnamed godson of the Centre National du Cinema or National Centre of Cinema director Dominique Boutonnat arrives at Nanterre courthouse, north suburb of Paris, on June 14, 2024, as Boutonnat appears on trial for the sexual assault of his 21-year-old godson. (Photo by STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN / AFP)

The trial comes as French cinema reels from a renewed #MeToo reckoning that has seen several big names, including acting legend Gerard Depardieu, accused of sexual abuse.

READ ALSO: French actor Gérard Depardieu to be tried for sexual assault in October

Activists have denounced Boutonnat’s continued leadership of the National Centre of Cinema (CNC), whose role includes overseeing measures to curb sexual violence in the industry.

His godson accuses him of trying to masturbate him during a holiday in Greece in 2020 when he was 19.

“I looked at him to find my godfather and that’s when I saw someone completely different… It was someone using me to masturbate,” the godson, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told the court.

Boutonnat responded in court that it was his godson who had initiated the situation and kissed him.

“I feel bad about leaving an ambiguous situation, but to say there was a sexual assault is false,” he told the court.

He was placed under investigation in February 2021 but still reappointed by the government as head of the CNC in July 2022.

Training to prevent abuse has in recent months become obligatory for films seeking public funding via the CNC.

The CNC told AFP that the case against Boutonnat came from “the private sphere” and had no relation to its activities.

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CRIME

Woman files complaint against French zoo over wolf attack

A woman seriously injured by wolves at the weekend while jogging in a safari park outside Paris has filed a criminal complaint against the attraction.

Published: 27 June 2024 15:02 CEST
Woman files complaint against French zoo over wolf attack

The Thoiry zoo, west of Paris, failed to meet its safety obligations, the 37-year-old victim argues, after she was attacked by three wolves in an area normally off-limits to pedestrians, her lawyer told AFP.

Prosecutors in nearby Versailles have already opened a case into suspected unintentional wounding.

The woman’s condition has stabilised after she was rushed to hospital, but she is unable to speak because of the injuries to her larynx, her lawyer Cosima Ouhioun said.

“She hopes her case will serve to set adequate safety standards in the animal park so that this never happens again,” Ouihoun added.

In a police report seen by AFP, the woman said she had arrived at Thoiry late Saturday with her mother and two-year-old son to stay in a lodge in the park’s wolf zone.

Such stays are advertised on Thoiry’s website at between €220 and €760 per night, promising ‘silence, rest and disconnection’.

She set out for a jog on Sunday morning ahead of their planned departure, insisting that a park ranger had told her there was no danger as the animals were kept in enclosures.

Following a path, she reached the zoo’s American safari zone without encountering any warning that animals might be roaming free.

On her way, she encountered a single green sign with text – but no danger symbols indicating danger to pedestrians.

Chief executive of Wow Safari Thoiry, Christelle Bercheny, said such signs communicate a ‘survival guide’ for the park.

Soon after passing the sign, the woman reported seeing a bear to her left and a wolf to the right.

She tried to stay calm and maintain eye contact as she withdrew, but was spotted by the wolf, who chased her and attacked her calves.

Two more joined in the attack, biting her on the thighs and back and bringing her down before attacking her throat.

A zookeeper who was in the area intervened after hearing her screams for help and called first responders.

Thoiry zoo said it had opened an internal investigation to, “analyse all the circumstances that may have led to this incident”.

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