César Awards: Actor dressed as donkey strips naked at French Oscars in protest against government

Corinne Masiero presented the Best Costume award at the live televised event

Masiero’s back reads: ‘Give us back our art, Jean,’ a direct plea to prime minister Jean Castex (AFP via Getty Images)

A French actor stripped naked at the country’s equivalent of the Oscars in protest against the government’s response to the coronavirus crisis.

Former award nominee Corinne Masiero was invited to introduce the Best Costume prize at Friday (12 March) night’s César Awards, which present the highest accolades in French cinema and are televised live.

Appearing on stage, the 57-year-old actor was dressed in a large donkey costume, which she wore over a blood-stained dress.

Masiero then stripped naked on stage, revealing the words “no culture, no future” on her torso in French.

Her back read: “Give us back our art, Jean,” a direct plea to prime minister Jean Castex.

Masiero appeared on stage dressed as a donkey during the televised event (Getty Images)

Masiero’s act came in support of French artists and technicians who have been unable to work due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the government’s perceived lack of response.

She said that the statement she was making was that “now we are like this, completely naked”, adding: “I don’t think I’ll be invited next year, we’ll see” as the cameras cut to a montage of the costume nominees.

Throughout the ceremony, other performers also used their platforms to call on the government to do more to support the culture industry during the pandemic.

“My children can go to [high street clothing store] Zara but not the cinema... it’s incomprehensible,” producer and director Stephane Demoustier said during his acceptance speech.

Cinemas have been unable to open in France for more than three months.