Artpress Editorial on Legal Overreach and Censorship in Art

An editorial by Jacques Henric in artpress criticizes the French legal system's overreach in cases involving art and sexuality, drawing on Philippe Muray's concept of 'penal envy' and 'penis envy.' Henric references the 2000 exhibition 'Présumés innocents' in Bordeaux, where organizers were charged for displaying an image of a minor deemed pornographic, leading to a decade-long investigation that ended in dismissal. He also discusses Roman Polanski's ongoing house arrest in Switzerland awaiting extradition to the US, and Yann Moix's book 'La Meute,' which defends Polanski and critiques the 'e-meute' of online lynch mobs. Henric argues that judges and police have become obsessed with prosecuting sexual content, wasting resources and harming innocent individuals. The editorial ties these cases to broader issues of censorship and the misuse of law, citing Kafka's 'The Trial' to describe the persecution of Polanski. Henric calls for cultural education for magistrates and criticizes the French ambassador to Switzerland for attempting to suppress Moix's book.