WARNING: This text might have an effect on those that have skilled sexual violence or know somebody affected by it.
French actor Gérard Depardieu went on trial Monday in Paris on costs of sexually assaulting two ladies on a film set, in a case seen as a possible watershed for the #MeToo motion in France.
Depardieu, 76, is accused of getting groped a 54-year-old set dresser and a 34-year-old assistant director throughout filming in 2021 of Les Volets Verts (The Inexperienced Shutters).
The actor denies any wrongdoing. Depardieu instructed the judges he was ready to reply the courtroom’s questions.
“We can present in an neutral, goal and incontestable method that the entire accusations are lies,” his lawyer Jérémie Assous instructed journalists massed exterior the courtroom.
“The reality can be apparent and the reality is on our facet,” he mentioned.
Prosecutors allege the assaults included obscene remarks and inappropriate touching, together with an incident through which Depardieu allegedly used his legs to entice one of many ladies earlier than groping her in entrance of different crew members.
The Related Press does not identify individuals who say they have been sexually assaulted except they consent to being recognized. Neither has on this case.
The 2-day trial was initially scheduled for October however was postponed due to Depardieu’s well being. A verdict is anticipated at a later date.
Depardieu grasped his lawyer’s shoulder as he strode calmly into the courtroom. The actor has undergone a quadruple coronary heart bypass and has diabetes, in response to his lawyer. A court-appointed medical knowledgeable decided that he is match to face trial. He’s anticipated to attend the listening to, reportedly with scheduled breaks.
Carine Durrieu Diebolt, the lawyer for one of many two plaintiffs, mentioned on France Data radio that her shopper “is calmly awaiting the end result of the case … as a result of the case is stable.”
Durrieu Diebolt mentioned 4 extra ladies who say they’ve been sexually assaulted by Depardieu will converse on the trial.
That is the primary time that Depardieu, certainly one of France’s most distinguished movie actors, has been tried over sexual assault allegations. He has beforehand been accused publicly or in formal complaints of misconduct by greater than 20 ladies, however no different case has proceeded to courtroom. Some have been dropped due to a scarcity of proof or the statute of limitations.
In a separate case, French actor Charlotte Arnould accused Depardieu of two rapes allegedly dedicated in August 2018. Depardieu was charged in 2020 with rape and sexual assault in that case, and in August prosecutors requested it go to trial. A Justice of the Peace has but to make the choice.
In an open letter printed in Le Figaro in October 2023, Depardieu wrote: “By no means, however by no means, have I abused a lady.”
Earlier than the opening of the trial, activists gathered exterior the courthouse. A dozen from the “Bruit qui courtroom” collective carried out a choreographed dance to techno music whereas chanting: “Sexist violence, complicit judicial system.”
Depardieu had dropped out of sight in current months, his movie profession seemingly on maintain. However he nonetheless has associates within the business. Actors Vincent Perez and Fanny Ardant have been amongst those that took seats on his facet of the courtroom.
