On paper, the cases have nothing in common. Two French rugby players accused of aggravated rape in Argentina, an English striker being signed by Olympique de Marseille (OM) football club after a complaint of domestic and sexual violence – since dropped - and an iconic abbé who died in 2007 and who is the subject of testimony from seven women over allegations of sexual assault and harassment. Yet, together, they speak volumes about the state of the #MeToo revolution in France.
Last Wednesday, Emmaüs and the Abbé Pierre Foundation revealed details of a report they had commissioned into their founder Abbé Pierre, a celebrated figure in the fight against poverty and poor housing who for many years was voted France's most popular person. The findings of the investigation conducted by the Egaé firm (see our black box below) are damning: seven women, including one minor, have testified to incidents, spanning from 1970 to 2005, that could be characterised as harassment or sexual assault.
“We believe them, we know that these intolerable acts have left marks, and we stand by them,” write the three organisations involved, all led by men – Emmaüs International, Emmaüs France, and the Abbé Pierre Foundation.
“We believe them”: these three words are heart-wrenching for anyone who has followed cases of sexual violence for many years. Christophe Robert, executive director of the Abbé Pierre Foundation, repeated them on France Inter public radio on July 18th when discussing the first witness account they received last year: “They believed her. So we said to ourselves: ‘We can’t stop here.’”
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The campaigner against poor housing expressed his emotion without portraying himself as a victim; he spoke of the “shock” experienced by his organisation and the consequences for the thousands of volunteers without, at any point, blaming those who had brought the scandal to light.
Christophe Robert said he felt “a great deal of sadness, a great deal of anger, because I resent him for having made these women suffer”. It was Abbé Pierre who was to blame.
A few minutes earlier, some of the priest's former parishioners interviewed on the public broadcaster had suggested that the victims had spoken out for financial gain or had done so much too late - seventeen years after the death of the Emmaüs icon. It was a classic case of victim-blaming, one highlighted by Caroline De Haas, who carried out the investigation, and rejected by Christophe Robert. “I say to those people that the victims who had the courage to testify have suffered greatly for a long time,” he declared.
Even more unusually, the three organisations involved are not shying away from their own responsibility: several people interviewed during the investigation had previously raised the alarm internally. But to no avail. Two books, published in 2007 and 2008, had also mentioned problematic behaviour. Again, those warnings went unheeded.
The pattern is always the same: institutions cover up accusations for a long time and protect aggressors, while victims are silenced, especially when their tormentors are powerful and untouchable. “What do you do when it's god doing this to you?” asked one woman during the investigation into Abbé Pierre.
Learning lessons from their example
What is new here is the reaction of Emmaüs and the Abbé Pierre Foundation. Despite the damage to their image, despite the forthcoming major fundraising sale of goods being held at Emmaüs's many centres, despite the financial risk... Many other organisations could take inspiration from this. This includes, for example, governing bodies in sport.
Regularly criticised for their inaction over or even complacency towards rape culture, as witnessed during the hearings of a parliamentary inquiry committee into issues of governance, they promise they have changed. Professional clubs also sing from the same hymn sheet.
Several recent cases, however, suggest otherwise even if at the same time they also indicate some signs of progress. This symbolises French society's current halfway house situation when it comes to sexist and sexual violence.
Let's take two cases: that of the two young French rugby players being investigated in Argentina for serious aggravated rape, and that of English footballer Mason Greenwood, signed on Thursday by Olympique de Marseille (OM) football club after he had faced accusations of domestic and sexual violence in England. And let's look at the reaction of the bodies that oversee them. It appears that some attitudes have changed. Not all - far from it - but some.
'A mistake, a disgrace' versus 'players' private lives'
OM - which has taken a public stance on combating domestic violence - has recruited Greenwood, once hailed as a future star of the game, who was suspended by English Premier League club Manchester United after a complaint filed by his girlfriend in 2022. The allegations included attempted rape and assault. Prosecutors eventually dropped the case after the “withdrawal of key witnesses and [after] new material ... came to light”. But Manchester United conducted its own investigation and decided to part company with the player.
News of Greenwood's impending arrival at Marseille sparked unprecedented controversy. Nothing of the sort occurred when former Manchester City player Benjamin Mendy moved to Lorient in France (after he was acquitted on rape and sexual assault charges), when German player Jérôme Boateng joined Olympique Lyonnais in Lyon, when Wissam Ben Yedder (placed under investigation for rape and implicated in other incidents in a revealing investigation by L'Équipe sports newspaper) was kept on by Monaco, or when Moroccan international Achraf Hakimi (placed under investigation for rape) stayed at Paris Saint-Germain.
Some OM fans (of whom there are many) launched a social media campaign with the hashtag #GreenwoodNotWelcome. The city's mayor, Benoît Payan, called the recruitment a “mistake”. “Greenwood's behaviour is indefensible. Beating his [partner] in such a manner is unworthy of a man,” said the socialist politician. “I don't think he has a place in this team. OM's values are diametrically opposite to this. I don't want my club to be disgraced by someone who hits his [partner].”
Rather more in keeping with the traditional football line, Marseille's new coach Roberto De Zerbi spoke of “a champion, a world-class player”. He added: “I don’t like to interfere in players' private lives. The only thing I can say is that when a player signs for the club where I work, I consider him as my child. I protect him through thick and thin, even if I can pull his ear in private, I will defend him publicly. My players are like my sons.”
In rugby, a coach 'in denial'
Similar tensions have surfaced within the management of the French national rugby team. Two of its young players, Oscar Jégou and Hugo Auradou, have been placed under investigation in Argentina for aggravated rape after a night out following a test match in Mendoza against the hosts. A third player, Melvyn Jaminet, was removed from the squad after making racist remarks during the same evening, which were then shared on social media.
The federation in charge of the sport – the Fédération Française de Rugby (FFR) - reacted swiftly, condemning the nature of the offences allegedly committed by the first two players in very harsh language and sending Jaminet back to France. The latter's remarks were referred to the prosecution authorities in France by the sports minister, Amélie Oudéa-Castera.
After the two players had been arrested, the other players in the squad were instructed not to go out partying in the evenings. According to L’Équipe, some players allegedly went out in Buenos Aires anyway. Florian Grill, the FFR's president, was astounded. He said: “If some guys really went out, it's outrageous and can't be ignored. [...] It says a lot about the ‘detoxification’ that will be necessary for some.”
This will have to start with the team's management. For in an interview with the rugby newspaper Midi Olympique, French coach Fabien Galthié refused to definitively rule out a future return for Jaminet (“It’s impossible to answer that question”), as well as Oscar Jégou and Hugo Auradou: “They're still among our rising stars.” He explained: “The two players [...] were very good in Mendoza [editor's note, the city where France played their test and where the pair are being prosecuted]. Really very, very good.”
Described in L’Équipe as being “immersed in a form of denial” and of being “himself steeped in a folklore in which he has always been immersed”, Fabien Galthié appears to refuse to accept that the world is changing.
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- The original French version of this article can be found here.
English version by Michael Streeter