海角大神

France begins to reckon with the dark side of its cultural elite

For decades, the intellectual elite of France, including its writers, cinema directors, painters, and other cultural nobility, have enjoyed public adulation beyond that of their peers in other Western societies. And along with that status has come a separate moral code.

Sometimes that just means they are afforded a greater tolerance for eccentricity or minor vice. But at others, it has meant that their sometimes questionable 鈥� and occasionally even criminal 鈥� acts are defended and often pardoned.

Take French writer Gabriel Matzneff, who has received numerous national literary awards 鈥� even when some of his work revolved around his own sexual involvement with minors. Or French Polish film director Roman Polanski, who has been embraced for years, while continuing to produce award-winning films, despite U.S. attempts to bring him to justice after he fled his conviction for a 1977 sex crime.

But since the Harvey Weinstein scandal and subsequent #MeToo movement, France 鈥� like many countries around the world 鈥� has begun giving more credence to women鈥檚 and victims鈥� voices. And just the past several weeks have seen Mr. Polanski and Mr. Matzneff come under fierce public criticism for their histories.

The backlash is telltale of a twofold cultural shift. It highlights a willingness to allow more space for women to be heard not just within the literary world but also more generally in society, as well as an end to an era when France鈥檚 intellectual elite 鈥� who are usually men 鈥� are forgiven their bad behavior in the name of art or聽rebellion.

鈥淚t鈥檚 not so much that intellectuals were pardoned for everything they did as it鈥檚 that we鈥檙e witnessing a change in social rules and morals in society more generally,鈥� says Violaine Roussel, a professor of sociology at the University of Paris 8, 鈥渁nd that has struck out at public figures first.鈥�

鈥淲here rules and morals are applied differently鈥�

The French intellectual elite have enjoyed a special place in society since the days of the French Revolution, when their subversive ideas, opposition to political culture, and fight for freedom of expression were lauded, and credited by some for sparking the revolution itself.

By the time May 1968 rolled around 鈥� when student protests led to nationwide strikes and civil unrest 鈥� the French had already long relied on their intellectual class to provide moral guidance on political and social issues.

Literary figures in particular, such as Voltaire, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, or Victor Hugo, were celebrated for their free thinking and progressive ideology; Baudelaire and Flaubert revered for their stories of libertine lifestyles.

It鈥檚 in this context that Mr. Matzneff was able to write extensively and聽with impunity about his sexual relationships with teenage girls and boys ages 8 to 14 in the Philippines. Throughout his career, he has received numerous French literary awards, and his accounts of sexual encounters with young girls during a memorable 1990 television program ruffled few feathers.

But that changed with the publication of 鈥淟e Consentement鈥� (鈥淐onsent鈥�) in January by editor Vanessa Springora, which details her relationship as a teenager with the much older Mr. Matzneff. Since then, France鈥檚 publishing world 鈥� and society more generally 鈥� has been thrown into a tailspin.

Mr. Matzneff has gone into hiding in Italy, with his trial for child abuse offenses in France set for 2021. In mid-February, French police raided his publisher Gallimard in search of possible censored texts. The French government has launched an appeal to any woman who was abused by Mr. Matzneff to come forward.

Just seven years ago, in 2013, when sociologist Pierre Verdrager published 鈥淟鈥橢nfant Interdit: Comment la p茅dophilie est devenue scandaleuse鈥� (鈥淭he Prohibited Child: How Pedophilia Became Scandalous鈥�), it made few waves and received little celebrity. Now, the scandal around Mr. Matzneff has catapulted it into the public eye for its dissection of pedophilia.

鈥淢y book is symptomatic of what is going on,鈥� says Mr. Verdrager. 鈥淲hen I was first looking for a publisher, everyone told me it would never sell. ... But now, I am a mirror of how things have changed.鈥�

Since #MeToo and France鈥檚 comparable #Balancetonporc movement, defending womanizers or illegal sexual behavior has become increasingly gauche.

鈥淭here [was] this idea that the literary world is autonomous from the rest of the world, where rules and morals are applied differently and people can get away with anything,鈥澛燤r. Verdrager says. 鈥淏ut now, everyone wants to be on the right side of history.鈥�

That鈥檚 meant an end to the relatively comfortable existence for figures like Mr. Polanski, who pleaded guilty to unlawful sexual intercourse with a 13-year-old girl in California in 1977.

Feminist groups have promised to protest at the C茅sar Awards, France鈥檚 equivalent of the Oscars, on Feb. 28 after Mr. Polanski鈥檚 latest film, 鈥淛鈥橝ccuse,鈥� was nominated for 12 awards. And in mid-February, the entire board of the C茅sars resigned, against the backdrop of, among other things, the ongoing Polanski controversy.

Impunity鈥檚 fall, feminism鈥檚 rise

Even if the changing attitudes toward France鈥檚 intellectual elite can be felt across swaths of society, nowhere has the transformation been quicker than in its literary sphere. 鈥淏efore, books about women were always on the margins, people made fun of them a little bit,鈥� says Sandra Monroy, an editorial manager at First Editions publishing house in Paris. 鈥淣ow, women鈥檚 voices in general are finally being taken seriously.鈥�

For decades, female authors were relegated to litt茅rature f茅minine 鈥� women鈥檚 literature 鈥� a concept seen by many as pejorative. While French feminists like Simone de Beauvoir and H茅l猫ne Cixous have made significant contributions to women鈥檚 literary gains, feminism as a concept has only entered the landscape in recent years.

First Editions, which puts out the French version of the 鈥淔or Dummies鈥� (鈥淧our les Nuls鈥�) manuals as well as books on literature, poetry, and cinema, didn鈥檛 have literature on feminism when Ms. Monroy started in 2015.

鈥淪hortly after I arrived, I suggested creating practical manuals or other books on feminism,鈥� she says. 鈥淭hat idea was quickly brushed off. At the time, it was also taboo to talk about the relationship between a female book editor and a male writer,鈥� like Ms. Springora鈥檚 relationship with Mr. Matzneff.

Since then, she says, writing on feminism has taken off in France. Nonexistent just three or four years ago, sections of bookstores have since been dedicated to the topic, and publishing houses are jumping on the phenomenon.

Mr. Matzneff鈥檚 fall from grace and the subsequent effects on French society are perhaps most notable in the fact that dissent against Ms. Springora鈥檚 book or denial of Mr. Matzneff鈥檚 behavior is relatively absent from mainstream discourse.

鈥淚t鈥檚 true, without a doubt, that 鈥榮tar status鈥� is not what it used to be,鈥� says Ms. Roussel, the sociologist. 鈥淭his has contributed to no longer seeing these figures as sacred as they once were.鈥�

Editor's note: The original story, which was published Feb. 24, 2020, has been updated to correct the year in which Mr. Polanski was convicted of a sex crime.