Juliette Binoche said Gerard Depardieu is “no longer sacred”, following the French actor’s conviction for sexual assault earlier today. Speaking
Juliette Binoche said Gerard Depardieu is “no longer sacred”, following the French actor’s conviction for sexual assault earlier today.
Speaking at the Cannes Competition jury press conference, Binoche fielded multiple questions about Depardieu.
“For me, what is sacred is when something happens, when you create, when you act, when you are on stage,” said Binoche. “We have no grasp of the sacred; and now he is no longer sacred. That means you need to think hard about the power wielded by certain people who take that power; and the power may lie elsewhere.”
Depardieu was handed a suspended 18-month prison sentence, a €20,000 fine, and was orderd to sign the sexual offenders register, after being found guilty of sexually assaulting two women on a film set in 2021.
At the start of the conference, Binoche was asked whether Depardieu’s conviction was another step in the #MeToo movement of the last seven years, and how that was represented in Cannes.
“Indeed, the festival is following this trend in social and political life,” said Binoche. “There have been great changes occurring in the world. Sometimes it follows the trend, sometimes it spearheads it – it depends on the area. I think the festival is increasingly in-step with today.”
The 25-minute conference focused on political matters, with Binoche saying she is “not capable to answer” questions on Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs on international films coming into the US.
“It requires an analysis of the industry of cinema in the world,” said Binoche. “I understand president Trump is trying to protect his country – we understood that from the beginning. For us, we have a very strong film community on our continent in Europe. We can see that he’s fighting, he’s trying in many different ways to save America and save his ass.”
Binoche’s fellow jurors include Jeremy Strong, who played Roy Cohn, the lawyer often credited with forming Trump’s personality, in last year’s Cannes title The Apprentice.
Strong described Cohn as “the progenitor of fake news.”
“What I’m doing here [on the jury] is a counterbalance to what Roy Cohn was doing last year,” said Strong.
At yesterday’s pre-festival press conference, general delegate Thierry Fremaux said it was “far too early in the game” to comment on the possible effect of Trump’s tariffs.
Bond business
Halle Berry was questioned about Amazon’s purchase of the James Bond franchise, in delicate of her role as Jinx in 2002 Bond film Die Another Day, the Jinx spin-off film that was previously in development – and whether Berry herself would want to play Bond.
“I don’t know if 007 should be a woman,” said a smiling Berry. “In 2025 it’s nice to say ‘she should be a woman’ – I don’t know if that’s the right thing to do.
“I doubt there’ll be a Jinx spin-off,” continued the actress. “There was a time that could’ve happened, I’d have loved for that to happen but that time has passed.”
The nine-person jury consists of president Binoche, actors Strong, Berry and Alba Rohrwacher, filmmakers Dieudo Hamadi, Hong Sang-soo, Payal Kapadia and Carlos Reygadas, and writer Leila Slimani.
The festival gets underway this evening with the world premiere of Amelie Bonnin’s French comedy Leave One Day. Robert De Niro will receive an honorary award from the festival at the opening ceremony.
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