A fresh #MeToo case has broken in France with 10 actresses accusing director Philippe Loiret of inappropriate behavior in an investigative report carried out by radio and news network France Info.
According to the report released on Tuesday, the accusations are related to the casting process for Loiret’s 2011 feature All Our Desires, when the director was at the peak of his fame in the wake of award-winning box office hit Welcome starring Mélanie Laurent.
The accusations comes amid France’s recent embrace of the #MeToo movement sparked in large part by actress Judith Godrèche’s decision to speak up about her under-age relationship with director Benoît Jacquot, and filing of an official police complaint him for “rape with constraint”. He has denied the charges.
Loosely adapted from a novel by Emmanuel Carrère, All Our Desires revolved around a young female magistrate suffering from cancer who teams up with an older lawyer (played by Vincent Lindon) to help a mother who has fallen into clutches of loan sharks.
Loiret is reported to have auditioned around 50 actresses for the two key female roles, 10 of whom have now come forward with accounts of inappropriate behavior.
Among the named accusers was actress Hélène Seuzaret, who has since carved out a successful TV career in local shows such as Crime is her Game, Goliath and Piste Noire.
Seuzaret recounted how Loiret had invited her for a casting session at his office on a Saturday when no-one else was present and suggested they act out an intimate scene between the young magistrate character and her husband.
She said the exercise had left her feeling ill at ease and that when they left the building, he tried to kiss her on the mouth.
“It was like an abuse of power, as if, because I was hoping to get the role, he could allow himself to steal a kiss,” she told France Info.
Actress Émilie Deville spoke of a casting exercise in which Loiret pretended to be the indebted mother’s six-year-old son, laying his head on her crotch and asking for his hair to be stroked.
Another unnamed actress said Loiret had invited her to lunch to talk about the role and then had grabbed her and tried to kiss her as they were going their separate ways. She said he later called to apologize for his behavior.
“It could have been worse. He didn’t rape me, he didn’t blackmail me but it’s humiliating to be kissed violently like that,” she said. “At that time, I didn’t think it was sexual assault. But today, looking back, I think it was.”
Amandine Dewasmes, who ended up being cast as the indebted mother, recounted how Loiret had caressed her at a dinner after she had secured the role and explained he was overwhelmed by her presence.
Dewasmes managed to sidestep his advances and went on to participate in the production without further incident, but said she felt he had abused his power.
In other testimony, an unnamed casting director assistant confirmed that Loiret had freely touched and embraced candidates during auditions, while actress Louise Szpindel recalled how he had asked her to raise her t-shirt even though there was no such scene in the screenplay.
Contacted by France Info, Loiret denied the accusations while his lawyer Solange Doumic was quoted as saying: “That he tried to seduce, that’s quite possible, but he always stopped when he found himself face to face with a refusal.”
Deadline has contacted Doumic for further comment in the light of the investigative report’s publication.
Clémentine Poidatz, a board member of the actresses’ association ADA, which campaigns against sexual violence in the cinema world, told France Info that the findings were yet another sign that casting procedures needed to be better regulated in France.
“In the U.S. and the UK, even before #MeToo, when they want to see your body, they give you a dance type jumpsuit,” she said. “I was never asked to get naked. They didn’t pull down my t-shirt to see my breasts. You need a clear frame, even if you’re making art.”
