A rape complaint was filed against the former 8 p.m. presenter on TF1. Since then, witnesses have clashed on both sides in the media. Some confirming that PPDA was known for very problematic behaviors.
Former 20-hour news anchor for TF1, a ubiquitous journalist in the French media from the 1980s until the late 2000s, Patrick Poivre d'Arvor is accused of rape by writer and journalist Florence Porcel. Since the information concerning his complaint was revealed on February 18, testimonies have multiplied, between the supports for the accused and those for the alleged victim. On March 2, 2021, it was Jean-Pierre Pernaut, former colleague of Patrick Poivre d´Arvor, who rose up in Les Grandes Gueules on RMC. He describes PPDA as "someone who loved women and never hid his love for women" but believe that "his office was in the middle of the writing, if something had happened in that office we would have known. If bad things had happened, we would have known. I would like to know the list of people who testified, because these testimonies are false. "
Florence Porcel’s testimony is not, however, the only one to give the image of a "predatory PPDA". Thus, this Tuesday March 2, the journalist Cécile Delarue responded on Twitter to Jean-Pierre Pernaut in this tweet.
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And Cécile Delarue is not the first to speak: others tell of their experiences as young journalists in front of this very influential presenter. Thus, Clémence de Blasi recounts her experience on Twitter: "I see quite a few here who are offended that we can touch such a monument of 'French charm'. My experience with him: at the end of 2015, I just left journalism school. First freelance, for the political review @CharlesLarevue, I'm in charge of interviewing him. I had been briefed: “with #PPDA, it's better to be in jogging than in a low-cut!” The interview is going well, I'm going home. 'followed an invitation to dinner, to which I did not respond, then dozens of insistent calls, and very, very intimate questions. I let it run. Before learning that the great man had called the editorial staff of the mag to tell them that I was unprofessional, that I had to be fired. It certainly does not make him a rapist, for justice to rule. But I'm happy that the voice is finally opening. "