Powerful Men Fall, One After Another, in France’s Delayed #MeToo

Since the start of the year, well-known men from diverse fields have been accused of sexual abuse and placed under investigation.

PARIS — When Sandra Muller launched France’s #MeToo social media campaign in 2017, tens of thousands of women responded to her calls to “Expose Your Pig,” or #balancetonporc.” But the backlash was overwhelming. Some of the most prominent women in the country, led by Catherine Deneuve, denounced the movement in a letter that came to define France’s initial response to #MeToo. In 2019, Ms. Muller lost a defamation case against a former television executive she had exposed on Twitter, with France appearing immune to the larger global forces challenging the dominance of men. Last week, Ms. Muller won her appeal. Though there were no new facts, a powerful ruling by the appeals court underscored how things have changed in the past two years.