Angelique Chrisafis wrote in The Guardian article "French publishing boss claims she was groomed at age 14 by acclaimed author":
The French literary world is in shock after a leading publishing director, Vanessa Springora, alleged in a new book [Le Consentement (Consent)] that she was groomed into a damaging relationship from the age of 14 with an acclaimed author who was 50.
Springora, 47, the head of the Julliard publishing house, claims that in the 1980s she met the author Gabriel Matzneff at a dinner with her mother when she was 13 and he was 50.
So, how did the famous award winning French author allegedly "groom" the nymphet:
He pursued her with letters and followed her in the street, and she began a relationship with him when she was 14, according to the book.
Springora claims Matzneff would wait for her outside her school and at one point moved into a hotel with her to avoid a visit to his flat from the police, who had received anonymous letters warning of an underage relationship.
And what was the immediate result of the author's seduction of the nymphet: "[...] she ended up skipping school and falling under his control."
He pursued her with letters and followed her in the street, and she began a relationship with him when she was 14, according to the book.
Springora claims Matzneff would wait for her outside her school and at one point moved into a hotel with her to avoid a visit to his flat from the police, who had received anonymous letters warning of an underage relationship.
And what was the immediate result of the author's seduction of the nymphet: "[...] she ended up skipping school and falling under his control."
Matzneff's nympholepsy was (openly) condoned by some in French literary society, and he openly expressed the allure of nymphets on French talk shows. For example, Matzneff shared on “Apostrophes” (March 2, 1990):
I have never had any success with women 25, 30 and over [...] A very young girl is kinder [For example] Marie-Elizabeth, I knew her when she was 15 years old.
Matzneff wrote in Mes amours décomposés about the conquest in three consecutive days of three strangers - two of whom were virgins: Mari-Agnes, Aude and Brigitte S. with whom he made love to almost sans interruption.
The Canadian writer Denise Bombardier, who is no fan of Matzneff, admitted on the show that "little girls" can be attracted to writers and that Matzneff's "reputation" was attractive :
Monsieur Matzneff tells us that he sodomizes little girls aged 14 and 15. [And] that these little girls are crazy about him. We know that little girls can be crazy about a man who has a certain literary aura. Besides, we know that old men attract infants with candy. [But] Mr. Matzneff attracts them with his reputation.
I have never had any success with women 25, 30 and over [...] A very young girl is kinder [For example] Marie-Elizabeth, I knew her when she was 15 years old.
Matzneff wrote in Mes amours décomposés about the conquest in three consecutive days of three strangers - two of whom were virgins: Mari-Agnes, Aude and Brigitte S. with whom he made love to almost sans interruption.
The Canadian writer Denise Bombardier, who is no fan of Matzneff, admitted on the show that "little girls" can be attracted to writers and that Matzneff's "reputation" was attractive :
Monsieur Matzneff tells us that he sodomizes little girls aged 14 and 15. [And] that these little girls are crazy about him. We know that little girls can be crazy about a man who has a certain literary aura. Besides, we know that old men attract infants with candy. [But] Mr. Matzneff attracts them with his reputation.
Matzneff defended himself by stating that the age-gap sexual encounters in the book were consensual, that he is the opposite of a "macho", and that he didn't force anyone nymphet to do anything.
Interestingly, Chrisafis reminded the readers: "In France, a child under 15 is considered a sexual minor but they can still be considered able to give their consent." Thus, per Orthodox Jews and Muslims, Matzneff's crime was actually fornication. And since, allegedly the sex was consensual, the post-pubescent nymphets would be guilty of fornication as well.
Erin Zaleski reiterated in The Daily Beast article "Outing the French Literary World’s Jeffrey Epstein" (Jan. 19, 2020):
Matzneff] was venerated in literary and media circles alike, often appearing as a guest on prestigious talk shows, where, positioning himself as a sort of literary libertine, he would boast on air about his affinity for young teens.
Like former Congresswoman Katie Hill, Springora previously considered her relationship with Matzneff to be consensual, but despite the fact that the age of consent in France is 15, that stance changed with the publication of Le Consentement (Consent) which per Zaleski: "[...] quickly sold out at many Paris bookstores, as well as on Amazon."
