Member of film crew tells Paris court she was assaulted three times by Depardieu

The French actor Gérard Depardieu sexually assaulted an assistant director on three occasions while she was working with him on a film shoot, placing his hands on her buttocks and breasts, leaving her feeling "petrified", the woman told Paris's criminal court yesterday.

- Angelique Chrisafis

Depardieu - the biggest French cinema star to face trial for sexual assault since the #MeToo movement - is charged with sexually assaulting the assistant director three times during the shooting of the feature film Les Volets Verts (The Green Shutters) in Paris in 2021.

He is also on trial for the sexual assault of a set decorator on the same film, who alleged he had gripped her hard between his legs while grabbing her body. He faces up to five years in prison and a fine of €75,000 (£63,000) if convicted of the offences.

Depardieu denies wrongdoing, telling the court: "I deny all of it."

The woman, who was employed as third assistant film director, has not been named in the media. She was tasked with accompanying Depardieu from his dressing room onto the set during the filming.

She told the court a first sexual assault had happened during a night-shoot in Paris, when she found herself alone with Depardieu at the end of a short road where his dressing room was located as they walked to an outdoor set. She said she felt his hand on her buttock. "It happened by surprise, I was shocked. I didn't know how to react... I carried on as if nothing had happened, kept walking to the set. I had a knot in my stomach."