In a political trial, we must speak above the heads of the judges, to public opinion as a whole, obliging the public authorities to assume their responsibilities. — Gisèle Halimi
In a concerted effort to push French society toward the acceptance of legal abortion, on April 5, 1971, Le Nouvel Observateur published a petition signed by 343 Frenchwomen—including Simone de Beauvoir, Agnès Varda, Delphine Seyrig, Françoise Sagan, and Catherine Deneuve—declaring that they had undergone the procedure. Among the signatories was Gisèle Halimi. A protofeminist who staged a hunger strike at age 10 in order to gain household equity with her far less studious brothers, Halimi became a practicing attorney, defending—at great personal risk—pro-Algerian-independence activists, and serving on the 1967 Russell Tribunal, which litigated against crimes committed by the United States Army in Vietnam.
Shortly after the publication of the pro-choice Manifeste des 343, Halimi was approached by trade unionist and single mother Michèle Chevalier, whose 16-tear-old daughter Marie-Claire had been raped and impregnated. After aborting the fetus, Marie-Claire was turned in by one of her attackers—who escaped punishment—and mother and daughter were arrested and charged. The 1972 “Bobigny Trial” electrified France, and the Chevaliers’ subsequent acquittal paved the way for the Veil Act, which legalized abortion in France in January 1975.
The American French Film Festival 2026 presents the American premiere of Women on Trial / L’Affaire Marie-Claire, a new film written and directed by Lauriane Escaffre and Yvo Muller which brings the trial and its historical context to life. Charlotte Gainsbourg stars as Halimi, with Cécile de France as Michèle and Saül Benchetrit as Marie-Claire.
See link and info below for screening details.
WOMEN ON TRIAL
Written and directed by Lauriane Escaffre and Yvo Muller
The American French Film Festival
Friday, November 6, at 5 pm
Directors Guild of America
7920 Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles
theamericanfrenchfilmfestival.org/women-on-trial
Reference: Josette Trat, “Gisèle Halimi: A Courageous Anti-Colonialist and Feminist Lawyer,” August 17, 2020, International Viewpoint.
internationalviewpoint.org/Gisele-Halimi
Lauriane Escaffre and Yvo Muller, Women on Trial / L’Affaire Marie-Claire (2026), from top: Cécile de France (from left), Saül Benchetrit, Sarah Suco, Florence Loiret Caille, and Charlotte Gainsbourg; de France and Benchetrit; de France (center, facing judicial officers); Gainsbourg; Gainsbourg, de France, and Benchetrit.
Stills courtesy and © Menemsha Films.
