Gérard Depardieu found guilty of sexual assault on a film set

Barcelona / CannesOne of the most famous cases The Me Too scandal in France has just been resolved: a Paris court has found actor Gérard Depardieu guilty of sexually assaulting two women during the filming of the movie The green shutters. The complaints were filed by a set decorator and an assistant director for the film. The judge imposed the sentence requested by the prosecution: an 18-month suspended prison sentence and a €20,000 fine.

Depardieu, who did not attend the sentencing and is filming a movie in the Azores, repeatedly denied any inappropriate conduct during the trial, and his lawyer asked for the charges to be dismissed. According to both complainants, the assaults took place in September 2021 in a Paris apartment where the film was being shot. The first complaint accuses Depardieu of cornering one of the workers on the set, pinning her down with his legs, and groping her buttocks, pelvis, and breasts. According to the plaintiff, the actor told her: "Come touch my big umbrella, I'll stick it up your pussy." The complainant told the court that the actor groped her all over her body while pinning her between his legs and making explicit sexual comments. "He touched me all over, even my breasts," she told the court. "I was terrified, he was laughing."

The second complainant claimed that Depardieu hit her both on set and in the street. During the trial, the French actor denied the incident. "I don't see why I should enjoy groping a woman on a film set. I'm not a groper. There are many vices I truly don't know," he said. Depardieu only admitted to grabbing the set designer by the hips "so as not to slip" off a stool while they argued about the film. The verdict also notes that both complainants suffered "double victimization" due to the statements of the defense lawyer, who accused them of lying.

Depardieu's lawyer has already announced that he will appeal the sentence and has harshly criticized him. "The moment you are accused of sexual assault, you are automatically convicted; there is no longer a trial; the sentence is already decided." When the events for which he is being tried occurred, Depardieu was under formal investigation for the accusation of raping a young actress (Charlotte Arnould) in 2018. This third case is pending trial, but the actor already has around twenty similar complaints.

From the Azores, where he is filming She regardait sans plus rien voir Under the direction of his friend Fanny Ardant, Depardieu has remained silent regarding the ruling. His participation in this film, incidentally, has been criticized by the plaintiffs, who find it inconsistent after citing health problems at various points during the legal proceedings. "He deceived us," said one of the plaintiffs, who nevertheless expressed "excitement and satisfaction" with the verdict. "It's a step forward," she said.

The impact of the verdict in Cannes

The verdict against Depardieu came on the opening day of the Cannes Film Festival, the biggest event in French cinema, which was already shaken last year. for the complaints against the French producer Alain SardeThe day before, its artistic director, Thierry Frémaux, was questioned about the possibility of a conviction and the festival's reaction. Speaking "as a citizen," Frémaux stated that he respected the legal system and would take note of the court's decision. "If the ruling is upheld, what should we do? The festival and the public will have to examine each case individually," said Frémaux, who admitted he was "relieved" to be holding the traditional press conference before the verdict.

The impact of the ruling was felt this Tuesday during the press conference of the festival's official section jury, chaired by Juliette Binoche, Gérard Depardieu's colleague at the festival. A single interior (2015). When a journalist characterized the French actor as "a sacred monster with great power," the actress expressed her discomfort at "the association between monster and sacred"He's not a monster, he's a man who has been desecrated by acts that have been brought to justice," Binoche said. "A star is also a man. A king is also a man. And the fact that he's no longer sacred makes us reflect on the power that certain people attribute to themselves." The actress also commented that, of course, the sentence against Depardieu is a consequence of the Me Too movement, "even if it's been a long time coming."