French actress Adèle Haenel, who has taken a step back from the film industry, recounted her tumultuous experience during the trial of director Christophe Ruggia on December 16, 2024, during her appearance on France Inter. Known as a leading voice of the #MeToo movement in France, Haenel emotionally described how she let her anger explode within the courtroom, shouting "ferme ta gueule" (shut your mouth) before storming out, as the trial reached its climax.
Haenel explained, "We must see the violence of hearing all these lies accumulated by a man who sexually assaulted the child I was." Her comments echoed her distress and frustration at the courtroom's atmosphere, which she described as cold and hostile, adding, "I tried to hold myself together, to provide as much concrete and material evidence as possible to the court, and he was just fabrications." The actress's breaking point came when Ruggia claimed, "Adèle Haenel, it’s me who gave her her name," which she declared was "not true, it’s false, it’s a lie—and it’s another act of violence."
On December 10, 2024, after two intense days of hearings, the prosecution sought five years of prison time for Ruggia, with two years to be served with electronic monitoring. Ruggia is accused of multiple sexual assaults on minors under the age of fifteen, and the decision on his fate is expected on February 3, 2025.
Haenel, who had worked under Ruggia's direction as the lead actress for the 2002 film Les Diables at the age of 12, has accused him of abusing her over several years during her teenage period. She expressed deep frustration at the defense strategy employed by Ruggia, emphasizing, "He tries to play the victim, to attract sympathy, but it is he who is the predator, manipulating the situation to protect himself."
Reflecting on her testimony, Haenel articulated her position as representative of the child she once was, stating, "I am back to where I was, as the representative of this child who disappeared, who nobody protected." She criticized the systems around her, saying, "No adult took responsibility. We talk about someone who was almost 40 at the time, organizing to have a 12-year-old alone at his home every weekend. All animals around him turned away, saying, 'Adèle is extremely mature.' But as the prosecutor stated, "A mature 12-year-old and a 40-year-old pretending to be a kid balance out... not at all!"
On France Inter, she reiterated how her life went unnoticed because of the adult perception imposed on her during her childhood. "I never had the chance to be this child; they always adultized me. Even myself, when I started speaking out about my experiences, I realized, through #MeToo, I was saying this as part of the women's movement. It took time for me to recognize—I was just 12 years old. I’ve forgotten but was told I looked like ‘an adult trapped in a child’s body.’”
Haenel also confronted the surrounding adult professionals involved in the production, exclaiming, "When I see the images, I am appalled. We made children do sexual scenes. There are many adults responsible for this—there are at least fifty adults present for any shoot," she said.
She condemned the failures of adults around her, declaring, "All the grown-ups around just dismissed what happened. No one took it seriously or intervened, even when I struggled with the humiliation and trauma.” This trial has opened the door for Haenel to share her story and insist on accountability for Ruggia and others, hoping their silence will finally be broken.
Despite the trauma of the past resurfacing during the trial, Haenel expressed hope. Her rising voice, representing countless others, continues to fuel the conversation around sexual assault and accountability for abusers, echoing far beyond the courtrooms.
On this complex path toward justice, expressions of outrage serve as both catharsis and truth-telling. Within the walls of the courtroom, where such raw emotions played out recently, lies the commitment to challenge the narratives constructed by those often evasive of the truth. Haenel summed it up poignantly: "His arrogance, his violence, makes me explode. I tried to respect the protocol but repeatedly confronting this level of violence became intolerable."
The next chapter for both Haenel and Ruggia remains uncertain as both await the court's final ruling. What is clear is the powerful impact this episode has on the fight against sexual violence and the voices rising to dismantle the taboos surrounding it.
