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| In the book "Consent", Springora describes how she was seduced at the age of 14 by Matzneff (AFP Photo/Martin BUREAU) |
Paris (AFP) - Paris prosecutors on Friday opened a rape investigation into the author Gabriel Matzneff, a day after the publication of a book detailing his sexual relationship with a girl of 14 over three decades ago.
The case
has attracted huge interest in France, which is only now beginning to
scrutinise attitudes after decades of what is seen by some as an overly
permissive attitude towards sexual exploitation of women and paedophilia.
The probe
was launched after an examination of the book "Consent", published on
Thursday, where author Vanessa Springora describes a sexual relationship she
had with Matzneff in the mid-1980s when he was 36 years her senior, Paris
prosecutor Remy Heitz said in a statement.
Heitz said
the inquiry would focus on "rapes committed against a minor" aged
under 15.
In
"Consent", Springora, 47, now a leading publisher, describes how she
was seduced at the age of 14 by Matzneff and how this left lasting scars.
Matzneff,
an essay writer long admired by some in French literary circles, never made any
secret of his preference for sex with adolescent girls and boys.
In the
mid-1970s, he published a notorious essay called "Les Moins de Seize
Ans" ("Those Less than 16").
'All
other victims'
Springora
had indicated she did not intend to bring a criminal complaint against
Matzneff. But the Paris prosecutors used their power to open an investigation
of their own accord.
Heitz said
that beyond the events described by Springora, the investigation "will
work to identify all other eventual victims who could have been subjected to
crimes of the same nature in France or abroad".
In France
it is against the law to have a sexual relationship with anyone under the age
of 15.
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Gabriel Matzneff
has denounced Springora's book, saying it attempts to
portray him as "a
pervert, a manipulator and a predator." (AFP Photo/
Jacques
DEMARTHON)
|
It is
possible that investigations into Springora's evidence could be restricted by
the statute of limitations, which in 2018 was extended to 30 from 20 years for
this kind of crime but is not retroactive.
The book
comes in the age of #MeToo as France wrestles with a series of accusations by
women who say they were exploited by men who often held positions of power.
In one of
the most prominent recent cases, French actress Adele Haenel accused film
director Christophe Ruggia of constantly harassing her from the age of 12 to
15. She has since filed a complaint against him.
And the
controversy has intensified around French-Polish film director Roman Polanski,
a fugitive from US justice since 1978 when he admitted to statutory rape of a
13 year-old, after he brought out his new film "An Officer and a
Spy".
'Not what
we experienced'
Matzneff
has denied any wrongdoing and in a lengthy statement sent to the L'Express
magazine claimed that there had been an "exceptional love" between
him and Springora, and that he did not "deserve the ugly portrait"
that had been painted of him.
"No,
this is not me, this is not what we experienced together and you know it,"
said the writer, now 83, denouncing a book that he says tries to portray him as
"a pervert, a manipulator and a predator".
In 2013,
Matzneff was awarded the Renaudot prize for his essays on international affairs
and philosophy, an award one member of the jury has now conceded was a mistake.
"It is
clear that he would not have got the prize for one of his intimate
journals," jury member Frederic Beigbeder told the Parisien daily.
"This prize was a blunder."
In the book
Springora writes: "Aged 14, you are not supposed to have a 50-year-old man
waiting for you when you leave school, you are not supposed to live in a hotel
with him, or find yourself in his bed with his penis in your mouth when you
should be having a snack."
Ahead of
the book's publication, French ministers rounded on Matzneff, with Culture Minister
Franck Riester saying "having a literary aura is not a guarantee of
impunity."
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