Parliamentary report of April 2, 2025 on behalf of the commission of inquiry into violence in the film, audiovisual, live performance, fashion and advertising industries, Assemblée Nationale.
Following extensive public hearings and considerable media attention, the commission of inquiry has published a report providing an overview of violence and working conditions in the cultural and creative industries, with a particular focus on the cinema and audiovisual sectors. The report includes a series of recommendations aimed at strengthening the legal and contractual framework to prevent and address sexist and sexual violence (referred to as VHSS in the French context).
Should these recommendations be translated into legislation, they could bring about significant changes to current production practices, requiring increased diligence from production companies. Such changes may include revisions to contractual templates and filming protocols. This report was released shortly after the conclusion, on 21 March 2025, of a collective agreement between professional organizations representing audiovisual producers (Uspa, SPI, Spect, Satev, Spiac-CGT, SFA-CGT, Snam-CGT, F3C-CFDT, and SNTPCT), which contains commitments aligned with several of the commission’s proposals.
One of the principal recommendations of the commission is the systematic inclusion of clauses aimed at preventing sexist and sexual violence in all production and employment contracts (Recommendation No. 41). These clauses, akin to what are commonly referred to as “morality clauses,” are already in use to some extent and typically provide for sanctions in the event of inappropriate conduct, whether on set or in the private sphere, insofar as such conduct affects the production or the production company.
The commission further recommends the mandatory inclusion, in contracts with performers required to participate in intimacy scenes, of specific clauses defining the parameters and execution of such scenes. These provisions should detail the physical actions required, any bodily contact involved, the extent of content to be shown on screen, and whether an intimacy coordinator will be present (Recommendation No. 61). The commission also advocates granting performers a right of review over the final editing of intimacy scenes, with the possibility of mediation by the CNC (France’s National Centre for Cinema) in case of dispute (Recommendation No. 62). While such clauses may already be contractually negotiated, enshrining them in legislation would require harmonisation with Article L.121-5 of the French Intellectual Property Code, which reserves final editorial authority (the said final cut) to the director, co-authors, and producer.
Several other recommendations envisage the creation of new roles during production. In particular, following practices already established in the United States, the commission recommends that the presence of an intimacy coordinator be made mandatory for all productions in the cinema, audiovisual, and live performance sectors. These professionals would be tasked with facilitating communication regarding performers’ boundaries and ensuring the appropriate handling of intimacy scenes. Their role, however, would remain advisory, without decision-making authority. Production companies have expressed concern about the financial impact of such measures, while acknowledging that they do not relieve them of their duty to ensure the safety of performers.
It is noteworthy that the recently signed industry agreement provides that an intimacy coordinator must be appointed upon the written request of a performer. Moreover, a designated VHSS liaison officer must be appointed on all fiction programmes, subject to the availability of a trained and willing staff member.
Finally, the report places significant emphasis on the need for training at all career stages. For initial training, the commission recommends the integration of a mandatory module on labour law and the prevention of moral, sexist, and sexual violence into the core curriculum of all public and private institutions in the cultural sector, with assessment by examination (Recommendation No. 28). Regarding continuing professional development, it proposes conditioning access to CNC funding on the participation of artistic agents in training on VHSS prevention (Recommendation No. 51). While the objective of this measure is legitimate, questions may be raised as to the appropriateness of conditioning film financing on compliance with obligations that are personal to agents and fall outside the production process itself.
Such conditionalities are not unprecedented. The CNC’s general funding regulations already require producers, distributors, international sales agents, and cinema exhibitors to complete mandatory training, the completion of which is a prerequisite for financial support. The Ministry of Culture, in its 2025–2027 national action plan against VHSS, has also announced the extension of these mandatory training requirements to the audiovisual sector as of 2026.
