"The scene filmed on Sunday showed France's first lady in discussion backstage at the Folies Bergere theatre in Paris with Ary Abittan, a French actor and humorist previously accused of rape, before a performance he was about to give. The previous night, feminist campaigners had disrupted his show with shouts of: Abittan, rapist! Before Sunday's performance, Macron asked him how he was feeling. When he said he was feeling scared, she made a derogatory and sexist reference to the women, adding: We'll toss them out."
"Her office said in a statement that she had been trying to calm his nerves: As the video shows, Mrs Macron's only intention was to reassure an artist who, in his dressing room before going on stage, had just told her: I'm scared' because his show had been disrupted the previous evening. In no way is she attacking a cause. She does, however, disapprove of the radical methods used to prevent an artist from performing on stage, as was the case on Saturday night."
"In a statement on Instagram, Nous Toutes said: We denounce venues that roll out a red carpet for men accused of rape, normalising sexist and sexual violence. It is a public insult to the victims. Victims, we believe you. Rapists, we do not forgive you!"
Video captured France's first lady using a derogatory, sexist slur backstage at the Folies Bergere while speaking with actor Ary Abittan, whose show had been disrupted by feminist campaigners the previous night. The protesters shouted accusations of rape against Abittan, whose 2021 rape allegation was dropped in 2024 for lack of evidence and confirmed on appeal. The first lady's office said she sought to calm an artist who felt scared and did not intend to attack the cause, while Nous Toutes defended the disruption as protesting impunity and condemned venues welcoming accused men. Political opponents demanded an apology.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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