Misplaced Pages

Revision as of 16:59, 10 October 2009

Frédéric Mitterrand (born 21 August 1947) is the French Minister of Culture and Communication. Throughout his career, he has been an actor, a screenwriter, a television presenter, a writer, producer and director.

Biography

Born in Paris, he is the nephew of François Mitterrand, who was the President of France from 1981 to 1995, and the son of engineer Robert Mitterrand (1915-2002) and Edith Cahier, the niece of Eugène Deloncle, the co-founder of "La Cagoule".

He went to the Lycée Janson de Sailly in Paris and studied history and geography at the Paris-Nanterre University, and political science at Sciences Po. For several years, he run several cinemas in Paris.

In June 2008, Mitterrand was appointed as the director of the French Academy in Rome by President Nicolas Sarkozy.

A year later, on 23 June 2009, Mitterrand was appointed to the French government as the Minister of Culture and Communications

Mitterrand, who is openly bisexual, writes a monthly column for Têtu.

Mitterrand's autobiography The Bad Life and 2009 defense of Roman Polanski

Mitterrand's autobiography The Bad Life (Template:Lang-fr) was a best seller in 2005. In the book he details his "delight" whilst visiting the brothels of Bangkok, and writes, "I got into the habit of paying for boys ... The profusion of young, very attractive and immediately available boys put me in a state of desire I no longer needed to restrain or hide." At the time of its release Mitterrand was applauded for his honesty, but he has had to defend his writings after he publicly defended Roman Polanski when Polanski was detained in Switzerland on an American request for extradition for having sex with a thirteen year old girl.

On October 5th 2009 Marine Le Pen of the French National Front Party quoted sections of the autobiography on French television, accusing him of having sex with underage boys and engaging in "sex tourism", demanding that Mitterrand resign his position as culture minister. Amongst others he was also criticised by the Socialist Party spokesman Benoît Hamon, who stated: “As a minister of culture he has drawn attention to himself by defending a film maker and he has written a book where he said he took advantage of sexual tourism. To say the least, I find it shocking.” On the other hand, some Conservatives supported Mitterrand, and a close aide to Nicolas Sarkozy said the French President backed his Culture Minister, describing the controversy around him as "pathetic." Mitterrand also insists the book isn't an autobiography, the publisher describes it as a "novel inspired by autobiography" and the BBC refers to it as "autobiographical novel". In his own defence Mitterand stated, "Each time I was with people who were my age, or who were five years younger – there wasn't the slightest ambiguity – and who were consenting," and that he uses the term "boys" loosely, both in his life and in the book. He also declared, "I condemn sexual tourism, which is a disgrace. I condemn paedophilia, which I have never in any way participated in."

References

1. LEXPRESS.fr (2008-06-04). 'Frédéric Mitterrand nommé à la Villa Médicis', in L'Express, 4 June 2008. Retrieved from http://www.lexpress.fr/actualite/politique/frederic-mitterrand-nomme-a-la-villa-medicis_507570.html?xtor=RSS-96.
2. LE MONDE.FR (2009-06-23). 'Frédéric Mitterrand confirme sa venue à la culture', in Le Monde, 23 June 2009. Retrieved from http://www.lemonde.fr/politique/article/2009/06/23/frederic-mitterrand-prochain-ministre-de-la-culture_1210246_823448.html#ens_id=1210247.
3. Frédéric Mitterrand, 'Lettre Romaine', in Têtu, July-August 2009, issue 146, p. 20
4. "Frédéric Mitterrand admitted to paying for sex with 'young boys' in Thailand". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved October 9th, 2009. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |publishdate= ignored (help)
5. "Culture Minister Frédéric Mitterand fights to save job in rent boy row". The Times. Retrieved October 9th, 2009. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |publishdate= ignored (help)
6. "Mitterrand: A Friend to Polanski — and Young Boys?". Time online. Retrieved october 9th, 2009. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
7. "Bad Life' minister's colourful dynasty". The BBC. Retrieved october 9th, 2009. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
8. "Sarkozy backs sex tourism minister". The Telegraph. Retrieved October 9th, 2009. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
9. "French culture minister denies paying boys for sex". The Associated Press. Retrieved October 9th, 2009. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
10. "French pol Mitterrand forced to clarify 'sex with boys' comments after he defends Roman Polanski". NYDailyNews.com. Retrieved October9th, 2009. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
11. "'Bad life' haunts Frederic Mitterrand". the australian news. Retrieved october9th, 2009. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)

External links

• Frédéric Mitterrand at IMDb
• (In French) A passage from Mitterrand's autobiography, "La Mauvaise Vie", (Edition Robert Laffont, 360 p., 2005), pages 293 à 307. publisher LeMonde.Fr

v t e Second Fillon government
François Fillon François Baroin Alain Juppé Jean-Louis Borloo Michèle Alliot-Marie Bernard Kouchner Hervé Morin Brice Hortefeux Xavier Darcos Christine Lagarde Éric Wœrth Éric Besson Luc Chatel Bruno Le Maire Valérie Pécresse Frédéric Mitterrand Roselyne Bachelot Michel Mercier

• 1947 births
• Living people
• 21st-century French politicians
• Bisexual actors
• Bisexual politicians
• Bisexual writers
• French film actors
• French film directors
• French film producers
• French screenwriters
• French television presenters
• French television producers
• LGBT directors
• LGBT politicians from France
• LGBT screenwriters
• LGBT writers from France