French actor, Gérard Depardieu went on trial Monday in Paris on charges of sexually assaulting two women on a movie set, in a case seen as a potential watershed for the #MeToo movement in France.
Depardieu, 76, is accused of having groped a 54-year-old set dresser and a 34-year-old assistant director during filming in 2021 of “Les Volets Verts” (“The Green Shutters”).
The actor faces up to five years in prison and a 75,000 euros ($81,000) fine if convicted.
Depardieu, who denies any wrongdoing, told the judges that he was prepared to answer the court’s questions.
“We will be able to show in an impartial, objective and incontestable manner that all of the accusations are lies,” his attorney, Jérémie Assous, told journalists massed outside the courtroom.
“The truth will be obvious and the truth is on our side,” he said.
Prosecutors say Depardieu trapped the set dresser with his legs before groping her waist and breasts in front of witnesses. She says the actor also used obscene language and had to be pulled away by bodyguards.
The assistant director alleged that Depardieu groped her both on set and in the street.
The women sat side by side in court. The Associated Press doesn’t name people who say they were sexually assaulted unless they consent to being identified. Neither has in this case.
France has often been ambivalent — even resistant — toward the #MeToo movement. While Hollywood saw powerful men fall swiftly and publicly, the French film industry was slower to respond.
Some dismissed #MeToo as an American export incompatible with French values, citing concerns over free expression and what they viewed as an erosion of flirtation culture.
At the time of the alleged assaults, Depardieu was already under formal investigation for rape. In 2018, actor Charlotte Arnould accused him of raping her at his home. That case is still active, and in August 2024, prosecutors requested that it go to trial.
The sexual assault trial that opened Monday is expected to last at least two days, but could be extended beyond Tuesday, if the chief judge wants more time.
The trial was initially scheduled for October, but then postponed because of Depardieu’s health. A verdict is expected at a later date.
Depardieu grasped his lawyer’s shoulder as he strode calmly into the courtroom. The actor has undergone a quadruple heart bypass and has diabetes, according to his lawyer.
A court-appointed medical expert determined that he’s fit to stand trial, but recommended that the hearings don’t exceed six hours, with a 15-minute pause and snack every three hours.
This is the first time that Depardieu, one of France’s most prominent film actors, has been tried over sexual assault allegations. He has previously been accused publicly or in formal complaints of misconduct by more than 20 women, but no other case has proceeded to court. Some were dropped because of a lack of evidence or the statute of limitations.
Carine Durrieu Diebolt, the lawyer for one of the two plaintiffs, said on France Info radio that her client “is calmly awaiting the outcome of the case … because the case is solid.”
Durrieu Diebolt said that four additional women who say they have been sexually assaulted by Depardieu will speak at the trial.
In an open letter published in Le Figaro in October 2023, Depardieu wrote: “Never, but never, have I abused a woman.”
Campaigners for women’s rights demonstrated outside the courthouse. A dozen performed a choreographed dance to techno music while chanting: “Sexist violence, complicit judicial system.”
Depardieu had dropped out of sight in recent months, his film career seemingly on hold. But he still has friends in the industry. Actors Vincent Perez and Fanny Ardant were among those who took seats on his side of the courtroom.
