Olivier Duhamel, one of France’s most renowned political scientists and media commentators, resigned from his academic and media positions after being accused of sexually abusing his stepson.
The stepdaughter of the constitutional expert – the alleged victim’s twin – says the abuse happened in the 1980s, when she and her brother were 14 years old and well known to many relatives and friends.
Camille Kouchner revealed the alleged abuse, which she said was an “omerta” among members of Parisian politics and media, in her book, la Familia grande, which is due to be published on Thursday, but was serialized in L’Obs magazine It’s the world.
Duhamel, 70, resigned from his job at the Fondation Nationale des Sciences Politiques, which oversees and finances the prestigious Sciences Po grande école, and deleted his Twitter account, but made no comment on the charges.
Kouchner and his twin brother are the children of Bernard Kouchner, former Minister of Health and Foreign Affairs and founder of the NGO Médecins Sans Frontières, and of Evelyne Pisier, historian and writer, who died in 2017.
Kouchner and Pisier had three children, Julien and Camille and their twin brother, before breaking up in 1980. Subsequently, Pisier had a four-year affair with Cuban leader Fidel Castro before marrying Duhamel.
In the book, Camille Kouchner gives her twin brother the name “Victor”. She writes that the abuse continued for at least two years and that Pisier was warned, but chose to protect her husband, as well as family friends, to “avoid a scandal”. She says that her brother begged her to keep the secret, saying, “If you speak, I will die. I’m very ashamed. Help me to say no to him, please. “
“I was 14 and I let it happen … I was 14 and I knew and said nothing,” writes Kouchner, 45. “Why does he have the right to live outside of this reality when it haunts me?”
Kouchner, a legal expert, adds that “incest” – as has been described in the French media – happened more than once and was an open secret between friends and family, who were asked to say nothing.
“My book reports how many people knew,” she told Le Nouvel Observateur’s L’Obs website. “Of course, I thought my life could be considered offensive because my family is so well known, so I said to myself, that’s exactly why I have to do this.”
She added: “I decided to write because I couldn’t be quiet anymore. This book is born out of a need: to witness incest, to show that it has lasted for years and that it is very, very difficult to break the silence. I did not write it in the name of my brother, but for the sisters, for the nieces, for all the victims of incest. The omerta in a family weighs on everyone. “
His father, Bernard Kouchner, issued a statement through his lawyer. “A secret that has weighed on us for so long has been revealed. I admire my daughter’s courage, Camille, ”he wrote.
The FNSP sent an internal message to officials, seen by AFP, saying it had accepted Duhamel’s resignation “for personal reasons”. The foundation’s director, Frédéric Mion, said he was “shocked” to read the accusations.
Duhamel, ex-MEP and author of the much studied constitutional work The Left and the 5th Republic, is also president of Le Siècle, an influential men’s club whose members include important political, economic, cultural and media figures. He is the son of Jacques Duhamel, who was minister to President Georges Pompidou.
Duhamel told Le Monde and L’Obs that he “had nothing to say” in response to the charges. On Monday, he tweeted that he had resigned “from the institutions I work for” after being the target of “personal attacks”. He then deleted his account.
There can be no legal action, as the charges are overdue.
Alexandre Kouchner, Camille and the alleged victim’s half-brother supported their brothers in a Twitter message following the revelations of the abuse.
“I love my brothers and my sister. I admire your courage and support your choice to break the silence. We must always listen, listen and protect those who have suffered and suffer. Besides, I suggest you read the book ”, wrote Alexandre.
The alleged victim of the abuse has not yet publicly commented on the case.
• This article was changed on January 6, 2021 because an earlier version referred to Alexandre Kouchner as Camille’s half brother, while he is his half brother.