A French actor staged a nude protest at the country’s top film awards to urge that the government do more to assist the cultural industry, which has been decimated by the government shutdown.

In a message to Prime Minister Jean Castex, Corinne Masiero had “no culture, no future” scrawled on her chest and “give us art back Jean” – or, in a phonetic reading, “Give us our money back.”

Masiero, 57, took the stage wearing a donkey suit and a blood-stained clothing before stripping in front of the audience to give the award for best costume.

How Corinne Masiero started the night…
EPA

… and how she ended it
EPA

Since October, France’s cinemas and theaters have been closed due to the current coronavirus outbreak.

The event, which is France’s counterpart to the Oscars, is normally the biggest night in the French film calendar, yet there were no flashbulbs on the red carpet and no partners on the arms of prize nominees on Friday.

The event took place at a theatre as actors, musicians, and artists grow more frustrated with the government’s refusal to establish a date for the reopening of museums, galleries, concert halls, and movie theaters.

Masiero isn’t the first French movie star who has spoken out against the administration.

“My children can go to Zara but not the cinema… it’s incomprehensible,” Stephane Demoustier remarked as he collected a screenwriting prize.

In a fiery address to begin the celebration, Marina Fos, one of France’s most well-known comedians, took aim at the government’s closure of theaters and cinemas.

“I’m losing confidence in you,” Fois, the night’s host, remarked of Culture Minister Roselyne Bachelot for finding time to write a book during the COVID-19 issue.

She also slammed the French government’s larger anti-virus policy as the country’s case count surpassed 4 million.

Corinne Masiero (left) was invited to Friday’s socially-distanced ceremony to present an award

The demands come after protestors occupied three of the country’s four national theaters on Wednesday to demand that they be reopened.

“They cooped up our youngsters, closed our cinemas and theatres and banned concerts so that they could open churches, because we’re a secular country, so that old people could go to church,” she said. The Roman Catholic faith is practiced by the vast majority of French people.

Hundreds of actors, theatre directors, musicians, film technicians and reviewers, and others from the world of French culture protested the government’s closure of culture sites in Paris and other cities in December.