Patrick Bruel affair: did the Dinard town hall remove the singer’s honorary plaque on the famous Écluse beach?

Dinard, its majestic Belle-Époque villas facing the sea, its casino, its beach and its pretty white and blue tents buffeted by the wind, so often photographed… Like its cousin in Cannes, Dinard la Bretonne can be proud of hosting a most prestigious Festival, that of British film which will know in 2026, its 37th edition. A mischievous statue of director Alfred Hitchcock sits on the Pablo Picasso promenade, two insolent birds on its shoulders. Below, the beach huts with white doors. Each of them now has a plaque bearing the name of a president of the jury. Catherine Frot, Sandrine Bonnaire, Roger Moore, Ben Kingsley, Terrence Young, Charlotte Rampling and many others had the pride of seeing their name anchored on one of the most famous beaches in Brittany. But as noted West France This June 1st, one of these plaques has recently been missing, that of the singer and actor Patrick Bruel, president of the 23rd edition of the festival.

Is the municipality of Dinard behind this initiative?

A disappearance which raises many questions on the promenade where the celebrities of the festival are usually in the spotlight. “Maybe there was no festival this year?” wonder the tourists who notice the empty space between Nathalie Baye’s cabin and that of Éric Cantona. Faced with the questions raised by this disappearance, the city’s municipality was questioned. Still according to our colleagues of Western France the city assures that it is not responsible for the removal of the plaque. “It’s likely.”however, responds the town hall when questioned about a possible link between the removal of the plaque and the legal situation of Patrick Bruel. The artist is in fact facing several accusations of sexual assault allegedly committed between 1991 and 2019. On social networks, Internet users are once again divided on the subject. While some believe that the gesture is “ridicule” and that the singer is “judged before justice” others rejoice: “A good thing done.”

A complaint for rape filed against the singer, the events allegedly took place in Dinard

Why such a gesture? Among the numerous complaints filed against the singer, one of them was filed in the neighboring city of Saint-Malo in 2024. Amanda Sthers’ ex-companion is accused of rape by a woman who for the moment wishes to remain anonymous. The events allegedly took place within the framework of the Dinard film festival in October 2012, at the time of the actor’s presidency.

Get in touch Mediapartthe plaintiff, represented by lawyer Carine Durrieu-Diebolt, “did not wish to speak publicly at this stage”. The artist has, for the moment, not been heard in this survey, still in progress with the prosecution from Saint-Malo. As for the missing plaque, at this stage, no official decision has been made concerning it. Will it be reinstalled? On the municipal side, caution seems in order: “The subject will be discussed soon”confided an elected official to the regional daily. To be continued…