Depardieu in court in Paris as sexual assault trial begins

French actor Gerard Depardieu has gone on trial accused of sexually assaulting two women on a film set, as he finds himself at the centre of a case that is seen as a potential watershed for the MeToo movement in France.

- TARA COBHAM

Depardieu is accused of groping a 54-year-old set dresser and a 34-year-old assistant director during filming in 2021 of Les Volets Verts [The Green Shutters] and faces up to five years in prison along with a €75,000 (£62,000) fine if convicted.

The 76-year-old, one of the country’s most prominent film actors, has been accused of misconduct publicly or in formal complaints by more than 20 women, but so far only the sexual assault case has proceeded to court. Depardieu has denied all of the allegations made against him. In an open letter published in Le Figaro in October 2023, Depardieu wrote: “Never, but never, have I abused a woman.”

“He has obviously denied it from the beginning,” Depardieu’s lawyer, Jeremie Assous, told French radio RMC yesterday morning. “Like any person facing trial, he has the right to speak. He will finally speak.”