The three-year mandate of Dominique Boutonnat as president of the National Center for Cinema and Animated Image (CNC), which ends on Saturday July 23, should, unless there is a last minute reversal, be renewed during the Council of Ministers, Wednesday, July 20, according to our information. The Minister of Culture, Rima Abdul-Malak, had, at the beginning of June, clearly campaigned for this extension by declaring to the Parisian : “He is the boss of a CNC which has faced the crisis and which, moreover, has been a pioneer in the fight against sexual and gender-based violence. » While specifying about him, since he has been under judicial supervision since February 2021: “The presumption of innocence prevails. »
At the end of April, the Nanterre prosecution requested the referral to the criminal court of the president of the CNC for sexual assault on his godson. In October 2020, a complaint was filed by this 23-year-old young man for facts dating from August 2020, during a vacation in Greece. Dominique Boutonnat disputes “firmly all the facts”, according to his lawyer. No case law requires the withdrawal or resignation of a civil servant under investigation. For ministers, this has been a practice since 1992, the application of which is carried out on a variable basis.
This legal situation forced the president of the CNC to minimize his public appearances, but did not prevent him from defending the interests of French cinema during the pandemic. He won 310 million euros in aid (apart from those, governmental, granted to all companies), of which 211 million went to cinema operators – very affected by months of closure or restriction of gauge -, 38 million were allocated to producers, and 54 million to distributors. No cultural sector in France or in any other country has received so much aid. Significant recovery measures have already been initiated and, by 2030, a new windfall of 350 million euros will be devoted to film studios.
“Liberal Politics”
Coming from the world of insurance, the president of the CNC, 52, set up two guarantee funds for filming in the event of Covid-19 – co-financed by the State and private insurers – from 1er June 2020. Shooting of films and series was able to resume in France faster than elsewhere. In the wake of the #meetoo revelations, the CNC has established a policy to combat sexist and sexual violence. Aid from the Center is now conditional on the directors of cinema, audiovisual and video game companies following specific training. Between October 2020 and the end of 2022, 6,000 professionals will have done it. “It’s still a bit bizarre to have a CNC boss indicted for sexual assault who asks the entire profession to follow such training”, notes however an operator, illustrating the delicate position of Dominique Boutonnat vis-à-vis the film industry.
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