Dutch justice has decided.
The request of Michel Houellebecq, who demanded the prohibition of the erotic film in which he appears was not heard by the judges.
“
Unfortunately, Houellebecq's requests were rejected by the court
”, comments Maître Jacqueline Schaap, the writer's lawyer, “
it is very disappointing
”.
In case of failure, "
Michel Houellebecq will most likely appeal the decision
" she confided a few days before the verdict.
After the publication of a trailer, in which we saw him, in a bed, in the arms of a young woman, the famous writer, approached for a time for the Nobel Prize, had taken legal action to prevent the dissemination of the complete movie.
The author of
La Carte et le territoire,
explains that he agreed to play in the film by signing a contract, “
provided that [his] anonymity is preserved
”.
Condition that the director has, according to him, not respected.
An “unequal” and “inadmissible” contract, but not “invalid”
The Court finally ruled that the contract signed by the writer "
is unbalanced but not invalid
", explains Maître Schaap.
It was “
one of the most unequal and unacceptable contracts I have ever seen
”.
After the termination of the contract by Houellebecq in March, the lawyer had tried to argue that "there
is no longer any authorization to use the images in which Michel Houellebecq is filmed
".
For his part, the director claimed that Michel Houellebecq had given his consent in full knowledge of the facts to be filmed.
It is "
a form of censorship
", confided his lawyer, Christiaan Alberdingk Thijm, who had argued "
that as a writer, Michel Houellebecq has extensive experience in contracts and that he was not entitled to cancel it
”.
Arguments which have obviously been heard by the judges, to the great displeasure of the writer, already worried recently following his remarks on Muslims, pronounced within the framework of a discussion with Michel Onfray for the magazine Front
Populaire
.