Access hindered, slogans chanted during the performance: a concert of Gérard Depardieu was disturbed Saturday night in Lyon by women's collectives eager to draw attention to the accusations of sexist and sexual violence that target the actor.
"They are poor children led by the nose"
"The black eagle is you! Shame! ": in the middle of the Lyon concert of the tour "Depardieu chante Barbara", five activists present in the audience suddenly burst in front of the stage screaming, with pig masks on their faces, before being pushed out by security, noted an AFP journalist.
"They follow the masses, they are poor children led by the nose," said the 74-year-old actor to the applause of some 1,400 people present at the Labor Exchange.
Read alsoGérard Depardieu accused of sexual violence: is the actor grilled or untouchable?
In a statement, these activists of the collectives of Amazons Paris and Lyon said "refuse to let men accused of physical and sexual assault perform quietly on stage".
Before the concert, a hundred activists - and some activists - from various women's collectives had massed in front of the hall located not far from the center of Lyon, to chant various slogans castigating the "aggressor" Depardieu and his "complicit public". However, spectators were able to enter smoothly, as the entrance to the building was secured by a dozen police officers.
13 new testimonies of gender-based and sexual violence
Since the end of April, several performances of the actor have already been agitated by demonstrators, including in Lille on April 28, then this week in Bordeaux and Toulouse.
These disruptions come in the wake of the recent revelations by Mediapart of 13 new testimonies of sexist and sexual violence allegedly committed by the actor on eleven shoots between 2004 and 2022.
The actor is also under investigation for suspicions of rape and sexual assault on the actress Charlotte Arnould. The next performance of the tour "Depardieu sings Barbara" is scheduled for June 10 in Tours.
