Brigitte Macron has urged women to speak out against abusive men after French Elle put a murder victim on its front page, in retaliation to a rock magazine doing the same with her killer ex-boyfriend.
Music publication Les Inrockuptibles splashed Bertrand Cantat, the former Noir Désir frontman who beat actress Marie Trintignant to death in a Lithuanian hotel in 2003, on its cover.
The move triggered nationwide outrage, and promoted Elle to do the same with an image of Ms Trintignant.
Now, the country’s First Lady had waded into the debate, also fuelled by the recent allegations surrounding Hollywood film producer Harvey Weinstein, urging women ‘break their silence’.
Brigitte Macron has urged women to speak out against abusive men after French Elle put a murder victim on its front page
Music publication Les Inrockuptibles (left) splashed Bertrand Cantat, the former Noir Désir frontman who beat actress Marie Trintignant to death on a film set 2003, on its cover. The move triggered nationwide outrage, and promoted Elle to do the same (right) with an image of Ms Trintignant under the title ‘In The Name Of Marie
After a one-woman play in Paris, Mrs Macron said: I’m very happy that women are speaking out. It could be a cloud with a silver lining.
‘That’s enough. I think that all this (harassment) must stop very quickly. Freeing up speech is the best thing that could happen. (Those who speak out) are very brave to do so. I urge them to break their silence. It’s wonderful. Something is happening, really.’
She had been asked about a French journalist’s campaign to use the hashtag ‘Squeal on the pigs’ to flush out abusers.
Les Inrockuptibles published the story about Cantant as he plans to release a solo album in December, having already released its first single, England.
Mrs Macron was speaking out after watching a one-woman play in Paris (second from left, at the theatre)
Cantat had begun fighting with Ms Trintignant in July 2003 over a text message in a hotel in Vilnius, Lithuania, where she had been shooting a film.
Ms Trintignant was battered 19 times in the head, which initially left her in a coma and ultimately killed her, aged 41, leaving behind two children.
He was sentenced in Lithuania to eight years in prison for murder, committed with indirect intent, but was released in 2007 after releasing half of his sentence.
Under the title ‘In The Name Of Marie’ Elle snapped back that Ms Trintignant was, ‘The face of all women victims of male violence. The face of the 123 unknown women killed by their partners last year.’
The magazine added: ‘Marie Trintignant, we won’t forget you. It will take more than the obscene media promotion of Bertrand Cantat…to extinguish the flame.’
In response to the outcry, Les Inrockuptibles issued a lengthy statement clarifying their choice to put Cantat on the cover.
Part of it said: ‘Some will then ask how conceivable, without being schizophrenic, to dedicate a cover to Bertrand Cantat?
‘The answer is complex. For some, it is even inaudible. In the Inrockuptibles, we do journalism. It is our job, our passion.
‘And journalism sometimes requires questioning the shadows, going beyond borders and evidences, whatever they may be.
Cantat was sentenced in Lithuania to eight years in prison for murder, committed with indirect intent, but was released in 2007 after releasing half of his sentence
‘Journalism is not simply a moral posture that involves raising or lowering your thumb. The story of Bertrand Cantat has been part of that of the Inrockuptibles since the 1980s.
‘Noir Désir was one of the groups that built the identity of this newspaper, so much so that in 1997 we entrusted him with the reins of a number of which he was guest editor.
‘And that is why we felt legitimate, already in 2013, to give the floor to Bertrand Cantat for the very first time.’