The Cannes film festival barred an actor in a prominent French film from the red carpet on Thursday because of sexual assault allegations, unveiling a new policy under pressure from lawmakers and activists.
Theo Navarro-Mussy plays a police officer in a supporting role in the film "Dossier 137" by Dominik Moll, which is to premiere on Thursday in the festival's main competition.
According to French magazine Telerama, which broke the news, three former partners accused the actor of rapes in 2018, 2019 and 2020 but the case was dropped last month for lack of evidence.
The three women, all actors themselves, told Telerama they planned to appeal and file a civil lawsuit.
Cannes Festival director Thierry Fremaux confirmed to Telerama that Navarro-Mussy had been excluded because an appeal was underway.
"The judicial process is still ongoing," Fremaux was quoted as saying in remarks confirmed to Agence France-Presse (AFP) by a festival spokesperson.
The treatment of Navarro-Mussy, if it becomes the basis of a consistent policy, would imply that any actor or director under active investigation for sexual assault would be excluded.
It would align Cannes with the Cesar Awards, France's equivalent of the Oscars, which announced in January 2023 that nominees convicted of or under investigation for sexual assault would be barred.
Navarro-Mussy, 34, who had a breakthrough role in the French medical TV drama "Hippocrate," denies the allegations but he told Telerama he understood the decision by festival organizers.
In the past, Fremaux has sought to avoid taking a clear stance on the numerous sexual assault cases that have dogged figures in the film industry, particularly since the #MeToo movement.
He faced criticism from some activists in 2023 over the choice of the film "Jeanne du Barry" to open the festival, which starred Johnny Depp.
The movie marked Depp's comeback after a toxic court battle with ex-wife Amber Heard that revealed his turbulent private life involving alcohol, drugs and domestic abuse allegations.
The #MeToo movement shook the French film industry from 2017, as it did Hollywood, exposing widespread sexual misconduct and challenging a long-standing culture of silence.
A recent French parliamentary inquiry into the entertainment industry, sparked by allegations of sexual abuse by actor Judith Godreche, found that the mistreatment of performers was "endemic."
Inquiry chair Sandrine Rousseau, an outspoken feminist lawmaker from the Green party, called on the Cannes Festival to set an example in stamping out sexual abuse, as well as physical and psychological violence.
"The Cannes Film Festival must be the place where this shift in mindset happens, the place where we say loud and clear ... amid the glitter and the red carpets ... that finally, we all want things to change. Every one of us. At every level of the industry," she said last month.
Navarro-Mussy said he was "worried" about his career, adding that he hoped the fact the case had been closed was "taken into account."
"I have explained myself to the justice system and at this stage have been cleared," he added.
His lawyer said that he had not been notified of any appeal against the decision to close the investigation.
Moll, the director of "Dossier 137," told AFP he was unaware of the allegations before starting to work with Navarro-Mussy "and during the film nothing happened."
Moll's prize-winning previous film, "The Night of the 12th," tackled the issue of violence against women.
He said he was "very sensitive to this issue."
Allegations of rape between partners are among the most difficult to prove, meaning prosecutors rarely take them to court unless there is clear evidence.
French screen legend Gerard Depardieu was handed an 18-month suspended sentence on the opening day of the Cannes film festival this year after being convicted of sexually assaulting two women on a film set in 2021.
The 76-year-old, who has acted in more than 200 films and television series, is the highest-profile figure caught up in France's response to the #MeToo movement.
