President Emmanuel Macron had reacted in the Council of Ministers following the various testimonies of women accusing of rape and sexual assault the former host Nicolas Hulot, estimating that if "it is necessary that the word is freed", "we do not want neither of a society of the Inquisition ”.
Fourteen women who have declared themselves publicly victims of sexual violence on the part of the former minister, but also of the journalist Patrick Poivre d'Arvor answer him this Wednesday in a column published in Le Monde.
“How do our stories relate to the Inquisition?
", They begin, recalling that this jurisdiction created in the thirteenth century" imprisoned, tortured, tortured, burned heretics, those who were suspected of calling into question the divine omnipotence and the institution of the Church ".
"You put us on the side of the inquisitors, hated figures of collective memory, representatives of the worst atrocities of the past", judges this collective composed among others of the actress Maureen Dor, the former presenter of JT, Hélène Devynck, the ex- journalist at TF1 Cécile Thimoreau, or the writer Karin Bernfeld.
"Difficult and costly" testimonies
All of them say they have said their "most intimate shame, exposed [their] swallowed tears, explained [their] imposed silences or [their] neglected stories". “These testimonies have been difficult and costly for many of us. It took us years to have the strength to deliver them, ”they recall, many having“ revealed ”their names and faces. "We have nothing else to gain than to tell a truth, even disturbing, and to enlighten the country on the treatment of sexual violence, on the use that certain men make of their power, on the complacencies which allow them to do so, on the impunity they enjoy, ”they deplore.
Thus by "shaking the inquisitorial threat", "you tell us that we are dangerous", estimates the collective.
And to wonder: "Shouldn't our stories advance the law rather than push it back to the horrors of the Inquisition?"
".
“We are not the executioners, Mr. President of the Republic.
Why are we so scary?
», They asked, by way of conclusion.
Read alsoPatrick Poivre d'Arvor targeted by an investigation for rape
As a reminder, a preliminary investigation was opened by the Paris prosecutor's office targeting the former host Nicolas Hulot.
In total, it is at least six women, including one underage at the time of the facts, who implicate him.
Regarding the so-called "PPDA" case which erupted in February, 23 women testified, nine of whom had chosen to file a complaint for rape, sexual assault or sexual harassment, as part of a preliminary investigation conducted by the Nanterre prosecutor's office.