Maïwenn Fined $435 For Assaulting French Journalist

French director Maïwenn has been fined $435 (€400) for assaulting a leading French journalist in the lead-up to Cannes, according to French media reports.

The charges relate to an incident last March when the actress-director came across Edwy Plenel, co-founder and editor-in-chief of investigative news website online Mediapart, in a Paris restaurant.

Eyewitnesses said she approached Plenel while he was lunching with his lawyer, pulled back his head by his hair and then spat in his face. Restaurant staff identified her as the attacker.

The investigative journalist filed a police complaint against Maïwenn for assault shortly after.

News of the incident broke just days after Maïwenn’s film Jeanne du Barry, co-starring Johnny Depp, had been announced as the opening film at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival.

According to radio network FranceInfo, Maïwenn was ordered by a Paris court to pay the fine ($435) on the charges of “voluntary violence without interruption of work.

Maïwenn previously admitted to the assaulting Plenel on live TV days on chat show Quotidien just before the Jeanne du Barry world premiere at Cannes.