'Disgraceful and Despicable': French President Emmanuel Macron Faces Backlash After Defending Embattled Actor Gerard Depardieu
French President Emmanuel Macron faced backlash this week after he defended actor Gerard Depardieu from several sexual assault allegations.
French President Emmanuel Macron faced backlash this week after he defended actor Gerard Depardieu from several sexual assault allegations, RadarOnline.com can report.
In a surprising development to come after Depardieu, 74, faced fresh sexual assault allegations earlier this month, Macron spoke out and suggested that the popular French film icon was the victim of a “manhunt.”
Depardieu, 74, faced fresh sexual assault allegations earlier this month.
The French president also refused to strip the actor of the nation’s highest state award – the Legion d'Honneur – despite the dozens of allegations against Depardieu.
"You will never see me take part in a manhunt. I hate that kind of thing,” Macron said on Wednesday. "The presumption of innocence is part of our values.”
The French leader acknowledged his "huge admiration" for Depardieu who, according to Macron, is an “immense actor.”
Macron faced immediate backlash for his remarks, and several French politicians rushed to social media to slam the French president for not condemning Depardieu.
Macron spoke out on Wednesday and suggested that the popular French film icon was the victim of a “manhunt.”
Green Party MP Sandrine Rousseau called Macron’s comments "an insult to the movement that gives a voice to the victims of sexual violence.”
"Emmanuel Macron has picked his side – that of the aggressors," Rousseau tweeted.
"A single tweet is not enough to say how disgraceful and despicable this is towards the victims, and how behind the times,” added Women’s Foundation leader Anne-Cecile Mailfert.
"The president believes in none of the things he declares, no matter what the topic,” Socialist Party leader Olivier Faure also tweeted.
"You will never see me take part in a manhunt. I hate that kind of thing."
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Macron’s surprising interview on Wednesday came days after French Culture Minister Rima Abdul Malak said that Depardieu’s alleged actions “shamed” the country.
She also suggested that Depardieu might be stripped of the Legion d'Honneur award he received in 1996.
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The French president dismissed Malak’s comments and insisted that Depardieu would not be stripped of the award despite the dozens of sexual assault and sexual harassment allegations against him.
"Sometimes people get carried away," Macron said.
Depardieu has repeatedly denied the allegations against him.
"We don't take the Legion d'Honneur away from an artist on the basis of a TV report or whatever else, because if we started doing that, we'd have to take the Legion d'Honneur away from a lot of artists," the French leader added.
As RadarOnline.com previously reported, Depardieu was sued for rape by actress Charlotte Arnould in 2018.
The French film icon has since been accused of similar behavior by dozens of women, and French actress Hélène Darras came forward publicly in September and filed a sexual assault complaint against the 74-year-old actor.
Depardieu has repeatedly denied the allegations against him and insisted that he has “never, ever abused a woman” despite the accusations suggesting otherwise.
“I can no longer allow what I hear, what I have read about myself for several months,” Depardieu wrote in October. “I thought I didn’t care, but no, actually no. This all gets to me. Worse still, it wipes me out.”
“I finally want to tell you my truth. I have never, ever abused a woman,” the actor added. “Hurting a woman would be like kicking my own mother in the stomach.”
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