PARIS –

Famous French actress Anouk Grinberg believes the sexual assault trial against her colleague Gérard Depardieu reflects the slow pace with which France is becoming aware of sexual abuse, particularly in the film industry, after years of silence.

Grinberg, 61, who has appeared in around 30 films, spoke Monday at what was supposed to be the start of Depardieu’s trial but was postponed until March due to concerns over the 75 year old man. actor’s health.

She has known Depardieu for more than three decades, appearing with him in a 1991 film and in the film “Les Volets Verts.” The trial revolves around the alleged sexual assault of two women, a production designer and an assistant director, on the set of the latter film in 2021.

Depardieu has denied any wrongdoing.

In recent months, Grinberg has decided to speak out about the need for change, joining other French actors who have decided to shine a light on the ugly underbelly of the country’s industry.

“For several years, I witnessed this … without any reaction, like everyone else,” she told the Associated Press. “Because I was upset by the violence and also because at the time, we didn’t think it was violence.”

Yet with the #MeToo movement and the growing number of women speaking out, something “has changed” in recent years, she said. “And I took the measure of this violence.”

Grinberg also said she personally knows actor Charlotte Arnould, who accuses Depardieu of two rapes allegedly committed in August 2018 in a separate case. Depardieu was charged in 2020 with rape and sexual assault in the case, but a magistrate has not yet decided whether he should stand trial.

“What is complicated in cases of sexual violence is that most of the time, women do not move, do not defend themselves. And it is not because they consent, it is because they are just petrified. Something inside them is dead, paralyzed by terror, by disgust,” Grinberg said.

“This is where we need to educate society as well as the justice system,” she added.

Grinberg described in graphic detail the lewd comments Depardieu said she continued to make on the set of “Les Volets Verts.”

“Society as a whole has really been a big accomplice to these actions, to these excesses, to these deviances,” Grinberg said. “I witnessed, on film sets, completely silent or sneering at this verbal violence.”

She said many in the film world kept silent because they feared they would no longer be able to work if they spoke out against powerful people in the industry.

Depardieu’s trial shows that times have changed, especially since the alleged victims did not occupy important roles. The “little hands” who work in the film industry are “speaking out and saying enough is enough. Enough really is enough,” Grinberg said.

Earlier this year, French actress Judith Godrèche called on the French film industry to “face the truth” about sexual violence and physical abuse at the César ceremony, France’s version of the Oscars. “We can decide that the men accused of rape no longer run (French) cinema,” Godrèche said.

Last year, one of France’s greatest actresses, Adèle Haenel, announced that she was leaving the French film industry which she denounced for “complacency towards sexual attackers”.

Haenel, star of the 2019 Cannes film “Portrait of a Lady on Fire,” published an open letter in Télérama magazine in which she said Cannes and other pillars of the French film industry were “ready to do anything to defend their rapist leaders.” ”

Resources for survivors of sexual assault in Canada

If you or someone you know is dealing with sexual assault or trauma, the following resources are available to support people in crisis:

If you are in immediate danger or fear for your safety, you should call 911.

A complete list of sexual assault centers in Canada that offer information, advocacy and counseling is available on the sexual assault center’s website. Canadian Association of Sexual Assault Centers.

Hotlines, legal services and locations offering help kits for victims of sexual assault are available in Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Quebec, Ontario and Nova Scotia. Scotland. here.

National Residential School Crisis Line: +1 866 925 4419

24 hour crisis line: 416 597 8808

Canadian Human Trafficking Hotline: +1 833 900 1010

Trans lifeline: +1 877 330 6366

Sexual misconduct support for current or former members of the armed forces: +1 844 750 1648

Discover your rights as a victim here. ​