A woman who accuses the writer Gabriel Matzneff, then 37, of having raped her at 15, will self-publish her testimony, she announced Thursday.
To be published on September 28, the book is called
The Deadliest Weapon
, we read on a website where the author puts the book on sale, and lets read the first eleven pages for free.
She describes it as
"half personal testimony, half journalistic investigation, in order to paint a portrait of an astonishing character whose actions have been protected, over the course of half a century, by some of the most powerful men"
.
Read also Matzneff Affair:
Consent
, the book by Vanessa Springora, soon to be adapted for cinema
The existence of this story had been known since Francesca Gee had revealed her story to the New York Times in March 2020, more than two months after the publication of Vanessa Springora's,
Le Consentement
(ed. Grasset). A former journalist who lives in France, Francesca Gee, now 63, said that in 2004, almost 30 years after the events, her manuscript had been refused by all the editors contacted, some of whom openly admitted to fear the influence of Gabriel Matzneff.
In an interview with
Elle
magazine
, Francesca Gee explains that she no longer fears the reaction of Mr. Matzneff and his supporters to the publication of the story.
“I don't know how it will be received, but that doesn't scare me. It is possible that I am attacked, it is not very serious. I don't want to censor myself anymore
,
”she
says. Before admitting that his entire existence was ransacked by this affair.
The Consent
recounted in detail how Vanessa Springora, in the 1980s, was drawn into a relationship at 14 with a man who was nearly 50, and how everyone around them turned a blind eye.
According to Francesca Gee, the two stories are very similar.
“They were the words of love, the appearance of love, but it was anything but love.
I said I loved her, but there was no trust, no respect, ”
she told the magazine.
Gabriel Matzneff, 85, lives in retirement in Italy, and claims to be the victim of a revenge from Vanessa Springora and Francesca Gee after painful separations.
