Depardieu to appear in court to hear verdict on sexual assault charges

Gérard Depardieu will appear in court today to hear the verdict in his trial for allegedly sexually assaulting two women during a film shoot in 2021.

- Angelique Chrisafis

Depardieu, 76, is the highest-profile figure in the French film industry to face allegations of sexual assault since the emergence of the #MeToo movement. If convicted, he could face up to five years in prison and a fine of €75,000 (£63,000).

Depardieu is charged with the sexual assault of a set dresser and an assistant director during the shooting of the feature film Les Volets Verts (The Green Shutters) in Paris in 2021. He denied all the charges, telling the court he had been "dragged through the mud by calumny and lies".

Depardieu is accused of trapping the set decorator, identified only as Amélie, between his legs on the film set and grabbing her buttocks, pubis and chest. She said he grabbed and trapped her with force, used obscene language and had to be pulled off her.

Amélie told the Paris criminal court: "It was the fact that he knew I was afraid - I saw his eyes light up with a kind of pleasure in making someone afraid. I remember that savagery. He really terrified me, and that amused him."