Depardieu found guilty of sexual assault in turning point for #MeToo in France

Gérard Depardieu has been found guilty of sexually assaulting two women during a film shoot in 2021 and given an 18-month suspended prison sentence, in a turning point for the #MeToo movement in France.

- Angelique Chrisafis

Depardieu, France's biggest film star who has made more than 200 films and TV series, is the highest-profile figure in the French film industry to be convicted of sexual assault after years of the country being accused of being slow to take women's claims of abuse seriously.

The 76-year-old actor, who was not in court for the verdict, was convicted of sexually assaulting a 54-year-old set dresser and a 34-year-old assistant director during the shooting of the feature film Les Volets Verts (The Green Shutters) in Paris in September 2021. His name will be added to the sex offender register in France, the judge ruled. He was also given a €29,000 (£24,000) fine. Depardieu's lawyer, Jérémie Assous, said he would appeal against the verdict.

The set dresser, named in the media as Amélie, said outside court: "For me, this is a victory. Justice has been done."

Carine Durrieu Diebolt, Amélie's lawyer, said: "I hope this is the end of impunity for cinema artists. I've heard some actors recently still supporting Depardieu. Now with this verdict, no one can say Gérard Depardieu is not a sexual predator, and that's very important. Today, on the first day of the Cannes film festival, I want the cinema world to think of the victims of Gérard Depardieu, and to speak of those victims."