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#metoo? The French Resistance

Factual: Life Stories

16/03/2019 GMT

BBC World News - #metoo? The French Resistance

Investigation on the resistance French women face about sexual harassment.

BBC journalist Helene Daouphars investigates the resistance French women face when they speak up about sexual harassment and why #metoo didn't take hold in France.

When the #metoo movement spread around the world in 2016, thousands of women followed in France using the hashtag #balancetonporc (expose your pig). But soon using the hashtag became controversial for its vociferousness and created much debate. A tribune defending the right to flirt signed by 100 French women including Catherine Deneuve published in Le Monde newspaper shocked and fuelled the controversy. Men also got involved, complaining about the movement.
Why was #metoo so controversial in France? BBC journalist Helene Daouphars takes us on a trip to her home country where she investigates the resistance French women face when they speak up about sexual harassment and why #metoo didn't take hold there.
She meets with politician Segolene Royal, historian Michelle Perrot, Activists Marie Laguerre, Caroline De Haas and Sandra Muller,  students and sociologist to find out.

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