“I was hugged by Gerard Depardieu.” Karin Viar’s revelations about the filming of Potish.

Is there no more silence in French cinema? After Judith Godrech’s testimony against directors Benoît Jacquet and Jacques Doillon, the language continues to loosen. Full movie promo Madame de SevignyKarin Viard, who plays the famous marquis, spoke about the sexist and sexual violence that is rampant in the 7th art. “It is a rather complicated topic. It’s a subject that carries a certain ambiguity,” commented the 58-year-old actress on France Inter’s “La Bande Original” radio show this Monday, February 26. Karin Viard admits that in the past she was able to forgive behavior that she now considers “completely abnormal”. Before revealing. “I can speak to that as a victim because I was the victim of completely abusive and totally inappropriate behavior.”

The Cesar award-winning actress specifically mentions the filming Potiche in which he had Gerard Depardieu as his co-star. “I was hugged by Gerard Depardieu. I told him “Oh, but that’s not good.” And he immediately stopped. But I, in my mental organization, never thought that society should protect me. I always thought that I should actually defend myself. Recall that Gerard Depardieu is accused of rape and sexual harassment by more than twenty women and has been the target of five complaints so far. The latest was filed on Friday against the French film legend by the 53-year-old set designer for 2021 facts about the film’s shooting. Green shutters.

I told him “Oh, but that’s not good.” And he immediately stopped

“I participated in this vile thing by accepting it”

Still at the microphone of The Original Band, presented by Leila Kaddour-Boodadi and Nagoo, Karin Viard still remembers her beginnings as an actress, a time when “totally offensive behavior” was frowned upon. “There was also a semblance of normalcy on the part of those who behaved inappropriately. I don’t want to forgive them. We have yet to define this context of time that makes a number of things tolerable that are not at all. When I arrived, I found it normal that men were paid more than me. That they talk about women in front of my eyes in a completely condescending manner. I found it normal. I said. “They’re a bit heavy.” Let someone confuse me, let them physically touch me a little. Give me your hand in my ass…”

From there, the actress realizes the unconscious responsibility. “I wouldn’t want people to believe that the film world knowingly condoned that behavior. You were moving forward a bit blindly, that’s how it was. And I say this, considering it a stupid thing to say. But it’s also true, I’m 58 years old, I have to say that I myself have participated in this vile thing, accepting it and finding it not so shocking after all. It’s crazy when you think about it.”

Since then, the context has changed. The #MeToo movement has been there. It freed the voice of the victims and, above all, allowed for the “necessary” public awareness. “That’s what’s very ambiguous to me. This feminist movement, which is also sometimes, from my point of view, a little too much, is absolutely necessary, argues Karin Viard, and it is necessary for the shame to change sides so that the victims are no longer ashamed, but is it? an aggressor, a persecutor who feels himself a victim. It’s very, very, very important.”