The same story, told by a French female journalist who witnessed the cool kids' but managed to avoid their attention:

French media faces hard truths after #MeToo moment

As of Tuesday, eight journalists from five news organizations -- all of whom were members of an informal group called La ligue du LOL -- were suspended or had quit as a result of the harassment claims.

A number of them held top management positions in prominent newsrooms. All were young white men. The victims who spoke up were young journalists and bloggers, mostly women, some of them outspoken feminists. The fact that the group was active for years, but until last week didn't attract scrutiny, has led to a great deal of industry soul-searching.

Career buildup:

"The LOL League really had an impact on women journalists' careers, with their skills being put into question," said Aude Lorriaux, a freelance journalist, writer and spokesperson for Prenons la une ("Let's take over the front page"), a group that advocates for gender equality in newsrooms and more visibility for female journalists. "Some women were blacklisted on Twitter, had to leave social media. These men's careers were really built up on the back of [their alleged victims]."