French film director Justine Triet condemned what she called French President Emmanuel Macron鈥檚 鈥渟hocking鈥� repression of the pension reform protests during her Palme d鈥橭r acceptance speech at the Cannes Film Festival on Saturday.
After stepping on stage to accept the award for her film, 鈥淭he Anatomy of a Chute,鈥� Triet referenced the wave of protests that have gripped France this year.
鈥淭his year this country has been taken over by a historic, extremely powerful, unanimous protest on pension reform. This protest has been denied and repressed in a shocking way,鈥� Triet stressed.
Triet maintained that an 鈥渋ncreasingly uninhibited鈥� power pattern is breaking out in several areas of French society including cinema.
鈥淭he commodification of culture that the neoliberal government defends is in the process of breaking the French cultural exception,鈥� Triet continued. She was presented the award by the iconic actress Jane Fonda onstage.
鈥淲e have to make room for them, room that I was given 15 years ago in a slightly less hostile world where it was still possible to make mistakes and start again,鈥� Triet added.
Triet is just the third woman to win the Palme d鈥橭r, one of cinema鈥檚 tpp prizes, after New Zealand鈥檚 Jane Campion and France鈥檚 Julia Ducournau.
Her work 鈥� a drama about a woman suspected of her husband鈥檚 murder 鈥� beat off competition including Wes Anderson鈥檚 鈥淎steroid City.鈥�
The second-highest prize after the Palme d鈥橭r, the Grand Prix, went to British director Jonathan Glazer鈥檚 for his film 鈥淶one of Interest,鈥� about a family living next to Auschwitz.
'SPOILED CHILD'
Triet鈥檚 speech sparked outrage from some, including the French Culture Minister Rima Abdul Malak, who was present at Saturday鈥檚 closing ceremony.
鈥淗appy to see the Palme d鈥橭r awarded to Justine Triet, the 10th for France! But dismayed by the unfairness of her speech. This film could not have been made without our French model of film financing, which allows for a diversity that is unique in the world. Let鈥檚 not forget it,鈥� Malak said in a tweet Saturday.
The mayor of Cannes, David Lisnard described Triet as a 鈥渟poiled child鈥� in a tweet Saturday.
In his tweet, Lisnard congratulated the winners from across the world who accepted their prizes with 鈥渏oy and respect.鈥�
鈥淎 single, political complaint, that of the French director, with the speech of a spoiled child and so conformist, as she receives the prestigious Palme d鈥橭r for her subsidized film,鈥� Lisnard continued.
France鈥檚 social unrest has cast a shadow over this year鈥檚 instalment of the film festival. Trade union, CGT Energie which represents energy and mining workers, previously announced 鈥�100 days of action and anger鈥� coinciding with the festival period. This created fears that protests, and electricity outages may impact festival events.
To counter this, the Alpes Maritimes regional authorities issued an order on May 11 banning all protests outside the Palais de Festival in Cannes.
