For decades, the writer Gabriel Matzneff wrote openly of his pedophilia. He was protected and celebrated by France’s elite. Things changed when one of his victims published her account last month. He recently spoke about it in an interview with @onishinyt. nyti.ms/38helQt
@onishinyt Over the years, Matzneff was invited to the Élysée Palace by President François Mitterrand and socialized with the far-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen. He benefited from the largess of the fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent and the tycoon Pierre Bergé. nyti.ms/2tJxb3I 
@onishinyt But now Gabriel Matzneff and his backers are being held to account by a recent movement: the freeing of female voices long suppressed by powerful men. nyti.ms/2tJxb3I
@onishinyt The reckoning came with "Le Consentement" by Vanessa Springora, the first testimony by one of the writer’s underage victims. Now, Matzneff is due to appear in a Paris court on Wednesday, accused of actively promoting pedophilia through his books. nyti.ms/38iBoKV
@onishinyt It was, and remains, illegal in France for an adult to have sex with a minor under the age of 15. But unlike other countries with statutory rape laws, France does not have an age of consent. As recently as 2018, it dropped efforts to set one.
@onishinyt "This is the #MeToo of the French publishing world," said François Busnel, the host of "La Grande Librairie," France’s most important television literary program. nyti.ms/2tJxb3I
@onishinyt Lisez notre article sur Gabriel Matzneff en français. nyti.ms/31HbhLa
