France wrestles with the line between seduction, harassment
PARIS — France is in a bind over where seduction ends and sexual harassment begins.
Since the allegations of rape and sexual harassment emerged against Hollywood film producer Harvey Weinstein, the country synonymous with love has been stumbling as it addresses the issue of sexual harassment and violence against women.
Some have wondered if France can address men’s behavior toward women without throwing out its Don Juan national identity.
“France is a country of men who love women,” Guillaume Bigot, who has written about the Weinstein fallout in France, told The Associated Press. “Seduction is a profound part of our national identity ... the culture of the ‘French lover’ and the ‘French kiss’ is in danger because of political correctness.”
Yet many women in France reject his viewpoint, favoring instead the thoughts of French feminist writer Simone de Beauvoir on the oppression of women.
Even before the hashtag #MeToo went viral, a cruder French version known as #balancetonporc (“squeal on your pig”) appeared online and set off a deluge of anonymous accounts from women denouncing alleged abusers with unprecedented openness. It seemed to signal France could lead the way in the fight against harassment, since the posts numbered in the hundreds of thousands and spoke of ubiquitous sexism and predation in France’s cultural, political and business worlds.
But so far it appears the Don Juanists have prevailed.