French actor urges lawmakers to investigate sex crimes and sexism in the film industry

PARIS (AP) — The woman leading a push for a reckoning about sexual abuse in France's world-renowned cinema industry urged lawmakers Thursday to establish a commission to investigate sex crimes and sexism in the sector.

With French film-making in the spotlight ahead of the Oscars next month, Judith Godrèche gave emotional testimony to a French Senate commission Thursday recalling her own experiences as a young teenager breaking into the industry.

“Everyone knows that in the film industry, an abuser disguised as a director makes little girls suffer so they cry … He then arranges to meet them in an attic room and takes possession of them for real,” Godrèche said in her opening remarks.

Visibly shaken, she said she didn’t know she had the right to say “no.”