Roman Polanski, president of the Cesar: a petition calls for a boycott

The choice of Roman Polanski to preside over the Caesar is a scandal. A petition calls for the dismissal of the filmmaker, prosecuted for rape in the United States.

Roman Polanski will chair the 42nd Cesar Awards ceremony on 24 February in Paris. The announcement, made yesterday by the Academy , sparked outrage. A petition launched on Change.org calls for its dismissal and calls for a boycott of the ceremony.
Because Polanski is not a talented director, eight awards from the Academy of Caesars . It is also a fugitive, pursued by the US court for forty years . In 1977, Roman Polanski, then aged forty-three, was charged in California for violating Samantha Gailey, aged thirteen. The filmmaker admits having had “unlawful sexual intercourse” with a minor. He spent forty-two days in prison. Released on bail, he fled from the United States without waiting for the verdict, for fear of being heavily sentenced. He takes refuge in Europe. Despite the international arrest warrant which it is subject, France, Switzerland and Poland refused to extradite him .
His appointment to the presidency of the Caesar is perceived as an affront. ” It is an insult to women and the suffering they can endure an insult to rape victims (a woman every seven minutes) that are tens of thousands each year, details the petition. By their choice the Academy of Caesar are revealed as a deeply conservative institution of the rights of women . “