The film L'Affaire Marie-Claire, co-written and co-directed by Lauriane Escaffre and Yvo Muller, has been selected for a Special Screening at the Cannes Film Festival 2026. This dramatic biopic, led by Charlotte Gainsbourg, Cécile de France and Grégory Gadebois, recounts the Bobigny trial of November 1972, a watershed moment in the fight to legalize abortion in France. The feature hits cinemas on November 4, 2026.
The Marie-Claire Case
Film | 2026
Theatrical release: 4 November 2026
Biopic, drama | Runtime: to be announced
From Lauriane Escaffre, Yvo Muller | With Charlotte Gainsbourg, Cécile de France, Grégory Gadebois
Nationality: France
Special Screenings – Cannes Film Festival 2026
In November 1972, 16-year-old Marie-Claire Chevalier appeared before the Bobigny court to answer for having had an illegal abortion after being raped. Her mother and the women who assisted her are also charged. Facing them, a law that criminalizes thousands of women each year.
Their lawyer, Gisèle Halimi, chooses an unprecedented strategy: refuses to plead guilty and challenges the law itself. This radical gamble turns an individual trial into a political act, making the courtroom a public platform in a France deeply divided over reproductive rights.
Charlotte Gainsbourg embodies Gisèle Halimi, the fearless lawyer whose defense at the Bobigny trial became a turning point in the history of women’s rights in France. Cécile de France is Michèle Chevalier, Marie-Claire’s mother, and Grégory Gadebois takes on Claude Faux, one of the young defendant’s supporters. Saül Benchetrit portrays Marie-Claire Chevalier, joined by Sarah Suco as Lucette Duboucheix and Florence Loiret Caille as Micheline Bambuck. Xavier Robic plays the prosecutor, representing the judiciary and the law as it stood at the time.
The Marie-Claire Case will be shown in a Special Screening at the Cannes Film Festival 2026 ahead of its nationwide release. This selection places the film among works with a historical and social dimension that the festival highlights outside the official competition. The feature film sits in the tradition of courtroom dramas while embracing a clearly political and commemorative scope, tracing how a criminal case can become a catalyst for social change.
To extend the in-theater experience, check out the November cinema releases, the films currently playing, and our curated selection of upcoming historical and biographical films.
