Gérard Depardieu faces trial for two sexual assaults

The trial begins in Gérard Depardieu, great figure of French cinema, for sexually assaulting two women during the filming of The green shutters in 2021. The 76-year-old actor is due to appear in Paris this Monday, but it is not yet known for sure whether the trial will take place today: it was postponed last October for health reasons, according to Depardieu's defense. The actor, who has a long career spanning more than 250 films, has received in recent years numerous accusations of sexual assault: This is now the first time he has been forced to stand trial in a case that has emerged following the outbreak of the Me Too movement around the world.

Depardieu's trial was scheduled to take place in October, but the defense requested a postponement due to the actor's health. A medical certificate claimed that a complex coronary condition combined with diabetes prevented the actor from appearing in court. His lawyer, Jérémie Assous, has confirmed that the accused will appear this time, although he has pointed out that his health is still fragile.

The alleged sexual assaults that took place during the filming of The green shutters were reported by a set decorator and a production assistant working on the film. Both filed a complaint against Depardieu in 2024 for sexual assault and harassment. The actor denied the allegations at all times, and his lawyer claims the accusations are "false."

Gérard Depardieu has been the subject of around twenty complaints in recent years., although some proceedings have been closed because the statute of limitations had expired. The first was filed in 2018 by actress Charlotte Arnould, who claimed that the actor had raped her. Depardieu denies the allegations, but the Prosecutor's Office is requesting that he be brought to trial. In Spain, he was also prosecuted for the journalist and writer Ruth Baza, who accuses him of raping her in 1995 when he went to Paris to interview her.

Aside from the legal proceedings, the actor has been accused in the press by more than fifteen women who, on the condition of anonymity, have given their testimony about Depardieu's sexual and inappropriate behavior in his professional environment. The trial comes in a French society still shaken by the Pelicot case, in which Dominic Pelicot received the maximum sentence for raping his wife Giséle. repeatedly subjected to chemical subjugation and offered to other men over the internet. Gisèle Pelicot has become a symbol of the feminist struggle and a precedent for cases like this within the French and international justice system.