The French film star must answer and the trial against the 75-year-old is scheduled to begin in October.
French film actor Gérard Depardieu to face trial over sexual assault allegations The case against the 75-year-old is scheduled to begin in October, the Paris public prosecutor announced on Monday.
Depardieu was previously questioned in police custody over allegations from two women who alleged the actor was assaulted during filming in 2021. The actor has denied the allegations against him, the lawyer said.
Police custody in France has a fixed time limit. Suspects may be brought before the public prosecutor's office or a trial judge. Preliminary hearings may later become preliminary hearings. The Paris public prosecutor's office said nothing could be announced or confirmed at this time. First, the potential charges must be evaluated. Those involved in the process are also informed first.
A set designer alleged that the actor sexually harassed her in 2021 during the filming of director Jean Becker's “Les Volettes Verts”. Depardieu made several offensive comments, he told Medipart magazine. He “grabbed her brutally” and grabbed her “up to her waist, stomach and breasts.” The actor's bodyguards finally stopped Departue. “We had to listen to his nonsense from morning to night,” actress Anouk Grimberg, who starred in the film, told AFP recently. “When producers hire Depardieu, they know he's an aggressor,” he added. Another ad comes from a woman who wishes to remain anonymous. When she was 24, Depardieu harassed her with “obscene comments” and groped her during filming.
Misogynistic and questionable comments
Over the years, women have come forward to accuse Depardieu (“Cyrano of Bergerac”, “Asterix and Obelix”) of sexual assault; In 2018, actress Charlotte Arnold sued him. The case has been under rape investigation since 2020. Depardieu completely denies the allegations. In a letter published in the autumn “Le Figaro” newspaper, he described himself as the victim of a “media massacre”. French President Emmanuel Macron has repeatedly publicly supported the actor and referred to the presumption of innocence.
The award-winning actor, who has appeared in more than 200 films, was horrified by reports in a television report aired in December about his trip to North Korea in 2018. In it he repeatedly makes misogynistic and suspicious comments, for example calling women “big whores”. Then-culture minister Rima Abdul-Malak launched an inquiry into whether Departeau should be stripped of his Legion of Honor status. In the end it didn't happen. The actor received France's highest award in 1996. Départeau lost the National Order of Quebec and the title of Honorary Citizen of the Belgian Society of Estimebuis. His effigy was removed from the Paris Wax Museum.
