French #MeToo Founder Sued For Slander By Man She Accused

(France 24) 05/29/2019 13:56 The woman behind Frances answer to the #MeToo campaign exposing abusive behavior by men was to appear in court on Wednesday accused of slandering a media executive who she said had made lewd remarks. Sandra Muller a US-based French journalist is being sued for defamation by senior French TV executive Eric Brion at a Paris court over a Twitter post accusing him of humiliating her with vulgar comments. Both Muller and Brion a media consultant and former head of TV channel Equidia are expected to be in court when the hearing starts on Wednesday afternoon. Muller started a viral hashtag in French in October 2018 #balancetonporc (expose your pig) which called on Frenchwomen to name and shame men in an echo of the #MeToo movement that began in response to allegations that toppled movie producer Harvey Weinstein. In her Twitter post she told of how Brion had humiliated her saying: You have big breasts. You are my type of woman. I will make you orgasm all night. The post led to an outpouring of tales of harassment and assault which were hailed as ending a culture of permissiveness in France towards unwanted advances. After apologizing for his remarks Brion nonetheless decided to launch legal action against her. He is asking for 50000 euros ($55000) in damages 15000 euros in legal fees ($17000) and the deletion of the tweet where his name is mentioned.