In France, Me Too has some saying ‘not us’
PARIS – In France, #MeToo is giving way to #JoieDeVivre.
Though Me Too has had an effect in France, particularly among young people, many say the movement veers too far toward a perceived American puritanism that could threaten the French way of life and its cultural leanings toward sexual freedom.
France is still a country that clings to its deeply rooted ideas about men and women. And there is a central place of seductiveness in French culture and politics.
“I don’t want to imply that the French are in favor of harassment, but rather that there is a part of our culture where seducing is important and wellregarded,” said Raphaël Hun, 38, an
artisanal food entrepreneur based in southern France.
He pointed to the stark contrast in the public reaction to scandals involving presidents of each country. President Clinton was impeached in late 1998 after he lied about his relationship with a White House intern, while the French shrugged off news that François Mitterrand, president of France from 1981 to 1995, had two children from extramarital relations.
Hun’s comments reflect a common view in France. Sex is not considered taboo in the country. Come-ons — welcome or not — are considered a part of life.
French film stars Catherine Deneuve and Brigitte Bardot set off a firestorm last month when they criticized the
Me Too movement. Bardot called it “hypocritical and ridiculous,” and Deneuve defended men’s right to “hit on women.”
Deneuve and other high-profile French women signed an open letter published in January in the daily Le Monde, arguing that the Me Too movement — and its French counterpart, #BalanceTonPorc, or “Out Your Pig” — had turned into a witch hunt.
“What we are once again witnessing here is puritanism in the name of a so-called greater good, claiming to promote the liberation and protection of women, only to enslave them to a status of eternal victim and reduce them to defenseless preys of male chauvinist demons,” Deneuve and her co-authors wrote.
To be sure, sexual harassment exists in France, and people are outspoken against it. French social media exploded with examples of predatory behavior after journalist Sandra Muller used #BalanceTonPorc to denounce a television executive’s inappropriate advances. Supporters later used the hashtag to create a website where women could come forward anonymously.
Author and sociologist Christine Marsan said many in France are growing uneasy with the public naming of men accused of sexual misconduct. They say it resembles the atmosphere of fear and suspicion in the dark days of the pro-Nazi Vichy regime that ruled France during World War II.
“#BalanceTonPorc feels excessive because it’s an invitation to denounce someone — to name and shame,” she said. “On the other hand, Me Too is more balanced and positive because it invites women to speak out and break the taboo, to show that sexual harassment is unacceptable.”
Regardless of whether French women consider #BalanceTonPorc too harsh, many say they refuse to remain silent about harassment.
“As a woman, I have had to face shocking behavior like a man rubbing against me in the metro and, during a stint working in television, inappropriate behavior by a prominent personality,” said Parisian fashion designer Eve de Rothiacob, 42.
In a letter to the newspaper Liberation, Deneuve reiterated her position but made clear she didn’t sanction sexual abuse.
“I think the solution lies in educating both our sons and daughters,” Deneuve wrote. “But also, potentially, in setting up procedures in the workplace so that prosecution is immediately set in motion in cases of harassment. I believe in justice.”