French icon Catherine Deneuve defends a man's 'right' to chat up women in criticism of #MeToo movement
French actress Catherine Deneuve - Shutterstock

France's most revered actress Catherine Deneuve declared Tuesday that men should be "free to hit on" women, condemning a new "puritanism" she claimed has been sparked by sexual harassment scandals. She was one of around 100 French women writers, performers and academics who wrote an open letter deploring the wave of "denunciations" that has followed claims that Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein sexually assaulted and harassed women over decades.