The film legend is brought to trial in Paris for alleged sexual assault by two women during a 2021 filming.
French cinema legend Gerard Despardou is scheduled to go to trial in Paris on Monday for accusations of sexually assaulting two women during the 2021 filming.
Depardieu, 76, who has made more than 200 films and television series, has been accused of inappropriate behavior by around 20 women, but this is the first case that comes to trial, which begins Monday. He consistently denied fraud.
Depardieu’s lawyer Jeremie Assous said Friday that the case was based on “false accusations” against his client, adding that the film star was expected to attend a two-day trial after the initial hearing was postponed due to his health.
Prosecutors say the attack occurred while filming the 2021 Les Volets Verts (The Green Shotters).
They accuse DePaldieu of groping for one of the women on the set of the film, pulling her towards him, and locking her in with his feet as she spoke indecent words as she touched her hips, hips and breasts. Three people witnessed the scene, prosecutors said.
They say that the second woman was groped by Depardou on the set and on the street. The female identity has not been revealed.
The alleged attack came while Depardieu was officially investigated in 2018 on charges of raping a young actress. The prosecutor in this case called for a trial.
Depardieu’s trial could be the highest #MeToo case in front of a French courthouse where protests against sexual violence struggle to gain the same traction as the US.
In February, a French court found Adele Harnell, a sexual abuser, on charges, on charges when she was a minor.
French director and actress Judith Godreche said Harnell has become louder in the French #MeToo movement, and these trials have shown some progress.
“One of the great things going on is that women talking to very powerful men are rarely considered crazy,” she told Reuters in a phone call.
But Godreche said it’s still rare for men to speak up in the French film industry.
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