Roselyne Bachelot defends the director of "Mignonnes", targeted in the United States

The Minister of Culture Roselyne Bachelot took on Friday the defense of the French director Maïmouna Doucouré, target of the American right which taxes the hypersexualization of children in her film "Mignonnes".

"The virulent critics of which the film

 is the target lend to the director an intention which is in total contradiction with the purpose of her work. They are based on a series of reducing and decontextualized images of the film", regretted the minister in a joint statement with her colleague delegate for Equality between women and men, Elisabeth Moreno.

A film under criticism from the American right

"This film must be able to continue to be presented to all audiences and to fuel a peaceful debate based on enlightened readings of the work," they added.

Released in France this summer,

 has been the target of the American right since it was put online on September 9 in the United States by Netflix.

A campaign accuses the film of hypersexualizing children, to the point of taxing cultural circles, even its Democratic opponents, of laxity on the issue of pedophilia.

The film evokes the story of Amy, an 11-year-old Parisian who joins a dance group formed by three other girls from her neighborhood, who imitate the suggestive choreographies of current pop stars who make them dream.

The director totally rejected these criticisms, urging those who targeted her to watch the film to understand that it was leading "the same fight" against the hypersexualization of young girls and the unhealthy influence of social networks.

"Stimulate the debate to find solutions"

“Sparking debate,” she explained, “is necessary to try to find solutions, me as an artist in making this film, the politicians, the education system, the parents, everyone, because it is a real problem ".

In a press release Friday evening, France Télévisions, whose subsidiary France 3 cinema participated in the prefinancing of the film, was indignant at the attacks against the film.

This work is "necessary and of public utility because it denounces the dangers of social networks contributing to the hypersexualization of very young girls", says the group.

"

 makes it possible to bring these debates into the very heart of families and to initiate dialogue between the generations," added France Télévisions, ensuring to always stand "on the side of the creators" in the face of threats to freedom of expression and creation ".