INTERVIEW

Clémence Poésy: ‘French women are still seen as highly sexualised beings’

The Harry Potter and In Bruges actress discusses stereotypes
The actress Clémence Poésy has recently appeared in Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya at the Theatre Royal in Bath
The actress Clémence Poésy has recently appeared in Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya at the Theatre Royal in Bath
DAVID BEBBER FOR THE TIMES

When she was a teenager Clémence Poésy got some work experience in central Paris. On her first commute to work she noticed a man following her on the Metro. She saw him again at lunchtime, and later he followed her home.

“All day he was after me. And I was 15,” she says. “I have many friends who have had this experience of being chased for a whole day. The really terrible thing is, as a young girl you grow up thinking this is normal. You think, ‘It’s me, I make this happen, the way I dress or smile or something.’ But now at last that is changing. I’d like to think if I witnessed that happening to a young girl today I’d be strong