César 2017: filmmaker Roman Polanski renounces to preside over the ceremony

The Franco-Polish director has been harshly criticized since the announcement of his appointment as president of the 42nd César Awards.

On January 18, it was announced that Roman Polanski would hold the honorable position of President of the César ceremony on February 24. And on January 24, his lawyer said that the filmmaker renounces to preside over the ceremony, even if he is now "very bruised". This decision followed the many protests of the population, dissatisfied that this role is ensured by a man still prosecuted by the American justice for sexual touching of a minor of 13 years in 1977 and who has not received to date any judicial sanction.

This choice of the Academy provoked an avalanche of reactions, criticism, even sometimes insults to the director: a number of people were very frankly opposed to his nomination. A hashtag #BoycottCesar has become popular among Internet users and a petition has even been put online, "For the impeachment of Roman Polanski as President of the Caesars", obtaining more than 60,000 signatures. The Minister for Women's Rights herself, Laurence Rossignol, found it "surgent and shocking that the story of a rape in a man's life does not matter. " His opinion was shared by a majority of Internet users.

Fortunately for Polanski, some personalities have defended him, such as former Minister of Culture Aurélie Filipetti or actor Gilles Lelouche. The latter defended his fellow director fervently in an interview with Le Parisien : "In France, we make polemics of everything. We die from that in this country. You have to be consistent. Polanski has lived in France for 40 years. The charges against him precede this arrival. […] On that account, we have many people in France who can be blamed for things and who are still in political, social or economic life. They were not put in prison, they were not made into polemics. " The actor has of course clarified that this is not an apology for the actions committed by Roman Polanski.

The 42nd César ceremony is therefore without a president. It remains to be hoped that the next choice of the Academy will be better received than Roman Polanski… The ceremony will take place on February 24 and will be broadcast live and unencrypted on Canal+. The list of films in competition will be available on January 25.