“When a child says no, it means no,” insists Erwan Balanant to BFMTV.com this Wednesday, March 27. Looking back at the film’s casting videos. CE2 In the Jacques Doillon book that he saw, the MoDem deputy describes a scene that “deeply shocked” him.
“A girl, alone, about ten years old, without an adult of reference, in front of two adults, chosen because she herself is a victim of harassment – even worse, of sexual harassment – is induced on several occasions to talk about her harassment, despite their repeated refusals,” the MoDem deputy tells us.
Confirming information from Le Monde this Wednesday, he explains that he contacted the Prosecutor’s Office Friday, March 22, under article 40 of the criminal procedure code, after having watched several videos.
Two other deputies also intervened: Perrine Goulet, from MoDem, and Véronique Riotton, from Renaissance.
“Something abusive”
“The repetition of the questions asked of the girl posed a problem for us,” explains MP Erwan Balanant. “We had doubts about whether it could be criminally reprehensible,” he adds.
Who says doubt, says seizure for the elected member of the children’s rights delegation and author of a report in 2021 on bullying. It is up to the Paris prosecutor, Laure Beccuau, to decide whether the events reflected in the video are characterized or not.
For the MoDem deputy, in any case there is something abusive in this sequence. “When a child says no, it means no. Regarding this issue of the harassment suffered by the little girl and that she did not want to talk about, the issue should have been left there” by the casting director, he believes.
“Today we can occupy this position (of casting director for minors, ed.) without any qualification to work with children,” laments the MoDem deputy.
At the end of February, before the senators, the actress Judith Godrèche assured that Jacques Doillon, for this film, had given instructions to find a girl who was a victim of harassment “to make her relive on the screen what she experienced in life.
They request a commission of investigation on the issue
With the EELV parliamentarian, Francesca Pasquini, also a member of the Delegation for the Rights of the Child, but also of the Commission for Cultural Affairs and Education, they asked for the opening of a commission of inquiry into “the situation of minors in the cinema, performing arts and fashion”. industries.
Their goal: to address the adjustments that need to be made in the care of children in these different settings. Better monitor and regulate practices. And, ultimately, allow for reinforced protection of the rights of minors.
“An inconvenience” for the producer
In a statement sent to AFP, the producer was “confident” and claimed to have “evidence” available to the courts that demonstrates that “the best interests of the children have been preserved” during the castings.
In the sequence with the young actress, in particular, he evokes “a clumsiness committed by a single person in a single test video among more than a hundred (…) made.”
Beyond this seizure and the proposed resolution aimed at creating a commission of inquiry, Judith Godrèche’s statements at the beginning of February accusing Jacques Doillon of sexual assault on minors ended up stopping the publication of “CE2”.
Currently, the film, which was scheduled to premiere this Wednesday, March 27, remains postponed indefinitely, according to the words of its producer at the end of February.
Source: BFM TV
