Depardieu sexual assault trial postponed until March

Gerard Depardieu’s trial on charges of sexually assaulting two women on a film set was yesterday postponed until March due to concerns about the actor’s health.

- NICHOLAS GARRIGA, MARINE LESPRIT

The criminal court in Paris ordered an expert to assess the 75-year-old’s health issues. Depardieu‘s lawyer, Jeremie Assous, requested the postponement, saying that the actor has heart trouble and diabetes-related issues. Mr Assous said doctors decided the actor was not well enough to appear, though he was eager to appear in court.

“He is anxious to defend himself, because for over three years, a huge number of inaccuracies, false information and lies have been systematically disseminated and relayed,” Mr Assous said. “Now, finally, we’re going to be able to have the word of the defence.” Depardieu, who has denied any wrongdoing, is accused of using “violence, coercion, surprise or threat” in the alleged sexual assaults that prosecutors say took place on the set of Les Volets Verts.

Lawyers for both women also argued in favor of the postponement, saying that their clients want to hear Depardieu‘s explanations. Prosecutors say that in both cases, women reported that the actor trapped them between his legs and groped their buttocks, genitals, chest and breasts through their clothes.

Outside the court, one of the plaintiffs, a 53-year-old production designer, said “it was extremely difficult to listen to all this violence“, after hearing Depardieu‘s lawyer defending his client. She said: “He questioned everything. There were a lot of lies, about almost everything actually.”

Depardieu “is a coward”, French actor Anouk Grinberg said outside the court. Grinberg, who acted in Les Volets Verts said she showed up to court “because I can’t take it anymore. It’s unbearable, this man’s violence against women. And the impunity, it’s got to stop, society can’t allow it”.