Journalists at the Cannes Film Festival had to press Juliette Binoche, the legendary French actor presiding over this year’s jury, several times for a reaction to fellow star Gérard Depardieu’s recent conviction for sexual assault.

When she finally did reply, it was with a poised answer that rebuked Depardieu by rejecting the refrain in France that calls him le monstre sacré of cinema, a “sacred monster” whose eccentricities are above criticism.

“First off, the term le monstre sacré has always bothered me because he is not a monster, he is only a man. He has lost his so-called sacred status apparently because of acts that had legal consequences,” she said. “It makes you think about the power that some people have, those who take that power, but I think the true power lies elsewhere.” She added that only the act of artistic creation was truly sacred.