diff --git a/cmake/python-site.py b/cmake/python-site.py
--- a/cmake/python-site.py
+++ b/cmake/python-site.py
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+import setuptools  # makes import distutils work
 from distutils.sysconfig import get_python_lib, get_config_vars
 import sys
 if sys.argv[1] == "prefix":