In the same week that Harvey Weinstein was convicted for sexual assaults in New York, Roman Polanski won the award for best director at the Césars, the French equivalent of the Oscars. The actor Adele Haenel, who accused a director of sexually abusing her when she was a child, denounced the decision and walked out of the ceremony. Polanski has been accused of assaulting several women, including a 13-year-old girl in 1977.

France’s #MeToo movement also criticised Polanski’s award, saying that French institutions tend to reward a person’s art over their actions and that the country is slow to listen to women.

In the episode we speak to Anne Elizabeth Moutet who signed a letter saying #MeToo had gone too far. We also speak to journalist Alice Kantor about the generational gap and why she thinks sexism is deep-rooted in French society.

Presenter: Matthew Price
Producers: Katie Gunning and Alicia Burrell
Mixed by Emma Crowe
Editor: Harriet Noble