BAZAAR

atherine Deneuve is looking for hercigarettes—her Marlboro slims. Shelights one and, as we speak, it’s not longuntil she reaches for another.“I smoke too much,” she says.I would love it if that could be erasedfrom me.” But in the meantime,Deneuve says she might just switch tovapour cigarettes.Perhaps a more realistic approachthan having something erased from acelebrated fixture of French culture,one who was the actual model forMarianne, the figure of the FrenchRepublic appearing for years on coinsand stamps nationwide.At 74, the sovereign of Frenchcinema has preserved a global image asthe undisputed embodiment of Frenchchic and is an icon of style, still verymuch present in the fashion world.She made controversial headlines lastJanuary when she joined 99 otherwomen in signing an open letter thatchallenged the #MeToo movementand its French counterpart,#BalanceTonPorc, claiming that thepublic campaigns infantilise womenand contribute to a climate of sexualpuritanism and totalitarian thinking.A strong backlash ensued, andDeneuve responded with a letter statingthat while she stood by the originalstatement published in the French dailynewspaper Le Monde, she did notcondone sexual abuse or misconduct.“I’m a free woman and I will remainone,” Deneuve said in her follow-upletter to the French newspaperLibération. “I fraternally salute all``````women victims of odious acts, whomay have felt aggrieved by the letter inLe Monde. It is to them, and themalone, that I apologise.”Today she says she does not havemuch to add and stands by her words.“I’ve done my part and I have no moreto say than what I said in my letter.”But she also believes there is work tobe done in order to productively addressthe debate and the blurred line thatexists between power and seduction.“[Whether] a photographer,a painter, or a singer,” says Deneuve,“there is a part of seduction and desirein [the profession]. But the problem isto know where is the limit and what isthe difference between seducingsomeone and going too far. I think thebest thing would be to force allcompanies to have a code of conduct,and people who are in the company—no matter how small it is—agree thatthey will behave respectfully with bothmen and women. That is part of theircontract. And I think it’s time to startin schools. It should be part of theeducation. Boys try to seduce girls, andsometimes they are too forceful, so it isvery much a question of education.”Deneuve has spoken about women’sissues in the past, and back in 1971 shehad signed a pro-choice petitionwritten by feminist writer Simone deBeauvoir, in which she revealed shehad an abortion when it was still illegal.“I felt like a woman who thoughtthat being prosecuted for that issomething really unfair,” says Deneuve.“That’s why so many people signed“Whether it’s a photographer, a painter, or a singer,there is a part of seduction and desire in the profession.The problem is to know the limit and the dierencebetween seducing someone and going too far.”➤