French actor Gerard Depardieu arrives for the opening of his trial at the Tribunal de Paris courthouse in France on March 24.JULIEN DE ROSA/AFP/Getty Images
Actor Gerard Depardieu arrived in court in Paris on Monday for his trial over alleged sexual assaults on a film set, a case placing one of France’s best-known movie stars at the heart of the country’s broader reckoning over sexual violence.
A towering figure of French cinema, Depardieu has faced a growing number of sexual-assault allegations in recent years. Depardieu, 76, has consistently denied any wrongdoing, and this is the first case for which he would be standing trial.
“He has obviously denied it from the beginning,” Depardieu’s lawyer, Jeremie Assous, told French radio RMC on Monday morning.
“Like any person facing trial, he has the right to speak. He will finally speak,” Assous said.
Depardieu, his hand on his lawyer’s shoulder, walked past reporters and into the courtroom, without saying a word, ahead of the start of the trial around 1:30 p.m. (1230 GMT).
The trial, expected to last up to three days, was initially due to be held in October but was postponed due to Depardieu’s ill health.
Prosecutors allege the assaults against two women – whose full identities have not been revealed – took place during the filming in 2021 of “Les Volets Verts” (The Green Shutters).
They accuse Depardieu of groping one of the women on the film set, pulling her towards him and trapping her with his legs before touching her waist, hips and breasts while saying obscene words. Three people witnessed the scene, prosecutors say.
They say the second woman was groped by Depardieu on set and in the street.
A lawyer for one of the women told Reuters ahead of the trial that her client had been scared to come forward against Depardieu.
“There’s a fear, because he’s a cinema giant,” said Carine Durrieu-Diebolt. “It’s a struggle between David and Goliath and they are afraid of retaliation as they all work in cinema but at a much lower level than Depardieu.”
The lawyer for the second plaintiff did not reply to Reuters requests for comment.
If found guilty, Depardieu could face a sentence of up to five years in jail and a 75,000 euro (US$81,200) fine.
Depardieu’s trial is the highest-profile #MeToo case to come before the courts in France.
