The Council of Ministers, on the proposal of the Minister of Culture, renewed the mandate of Dominique Boutonnat as President of the CNC for 3 years, despite his indictment.
Indicted in February 2021 as part of an investigation for sexual assault and attempted rape, Dominique Boutonnatthe president of the Center National du Cinéma, was reappointed as head of the CNC by decision of the Council of Ministers.
The producer took office at the head of the National Center for Cinematography in 2019 for a three-year term, which has therefore just been renewed for three additional years.
According to information from BFM TVDominique Boutonnat is accused by his 22-year-old godson of acts which would have been committed in the summer of 2020. The president of the CNC quickly contested these accusations.
On April 25, the Nanterre prosecution requested the referral to the criminal court of Dominique Boutonnat.
Dominique Boutonnat, indicted in an investigation for sexual assault, remains at the head of the CNC
In a press release sent on July 13, La SRF (Société des Réalisateurs et Réalisatrices de Films), which was already opposing his appointment in July 2019, estimated that the renewal of Dominique Boutonnat would be “incomprehensible“.
“On the eve of a possible renewal of Dominique Boutonnat as President of the CNC, the filmmakers of the SRF continue to oppose in the strongest way the orientations that have been his since the beginning of his mandate.
While certain advances can be welcomed, such as the establishment of a third Advance on Receipts committee, while exceptional aid was quickly released during the health crisis, the foundations of the policy pursued over the past three years remain more alarming for independent cinema.”
According to the board of directors of the SRF, Dominique Boutonnat “conducts an openly liberal and too often short-termist policy, endeavoring to dismantle little by little this powerful tool of regulation“.
For her part, the new Minister of Culture, Rima Abdul Malak, had campaigned for her reappointment as head of the CNC. She confided last June to the Parisian : “He is charged, not convicted. The presumption of innocence prevails“.
For the SRF, “the indictment of Mr. Dominique Boutonnat should have prevented his renewal.”
Following the announcement of this second mandate, the Board of Directors of the SRF published a reaction this Thursday, July 21.
“The filmmakers of the SRF wish to react to the announcement of the renewal of the mandate of Dominique Boutonnat as president of the CNC for three new years.
Beyond our deep concerns about the policy conducted by the public authorities in place, in terms of culture and cinema, which we expressed in the press on Tuesday July 13, we would like to reiterate our full agreement with the Collectif 50/ 50 as to the necessary probity of the cultural institutions with which we exchange and work throughout the year.
While respecting the principle of the presumption of innocence, it seems essential to us to be able to observe strict equality of treatment between film professionals, who are bound by very specific obligations in terms of the prevention and detection of sexist and sexual violence, and their leaders within the CNC and all public bodies.
We therefore share the analysis of the Collectif 50/50, according to which the indictment of Mr. Dominique Boutonnat for sexual assault and attempted rape should have prevented his reappointment to the presidency of the CNC.