Deneuve & French say non to ‘# moi too’

Actress Catherine Deneuve and 99 other French women on Tuesday denounced a backlash against men following the Harvey Weinstein scandal, saying the #MeToo campaign against sexual harassment amounted to “puritanism” and was fueled by a “hatred of men and sexuality.”

In the aftermath of accusations against the producer, millions of women took to social media to share their stories of being sexually harassed or assaulted, using the #MeToo hashtag worldwide or #SquealOnYourPig (#balancetonporc) in France. “This urge to send men to the slaughterhouse, instead of helping women be more autonomous, helps the enemies of sexual freedom,” the 100 women, including Deneuve (left), 74, one of France’s most famous screen stars, said in a column published by Le Monde.

A man’s right to proposition a woman is an essential part of sexual freedom, they said, describing the campaign as “puritanism.”

Marlene Schiappa, the French minister tasked with cracking down on violence against women, said in a comment to Reuters that the Weinstein scandal forced a rethinking of attitudes toward sexual harassment in France, a country that cherishes its self-image as the land of seduction and romance.

Schiappa kicked off nationwide consultations on a law that is due to include steps to fight sexual harassment on the streets, as well as extend the statute of limitations for the rape of minors.

In late October, protesters in Paris disrupted the opening of a retrospective of Roman Polanski’s work following new rape allegations against the French-Polish film director.

But for Deneuve and the other signatories, including writers and journalists, this went too far.

“This vigilante justice has punished men in their jobs, forced some to resign, when all they did was touch a knee, try to steal a kiss, talk about ‘intimate’ matters during a work dinner,” their column said.

“We defend a right to proposition, which is vital to sexual freedom.”