PARIS (FRANCE) (ITALPRESS) – The trial of French actor Gerard Depardieu for sexual assault on two women during the filming of the 2021 movie Les Volets Verts has begun in Paris. The hearing, according to broadcaster “Bfmtv,” is expected to conclude tomorrow night, but the timing could slip until Thursday. Originally scheduled for last October, the trial was postponed due to the actor’s health condition.
Today’s hearing concerns the complaint filed by two women, ages 54 and 34. The first, Amélie, was a set designer on the set who according to her reconstruction was allegedly blocked and groped by the actor on September 10, 2021. The second plaintiff, Sarah (fictitious name), accused Depardieu of groping her against her will several times, also in 2021, when she was working as the director’s assistant on the same film. Depardieu’s lawyer has already let it be known that his client considers himself a “victim of false accusations” and that he “intends to tell the truth” during the proceedings.
French media therefore expect the lawyer to seek an acquittal for the actor, who faces up to five years’ imprisonment and a fine of 75,000 euros for a sexual assault conviction. Depardieu is also involved in another case, where he is accused of rape against Charlotte Arnould.
The Paris prosecutor’s office requested in the summer of 2024 that the plaintiff be referred for these facts to a departmental criminal court. The investigating judge has not yet issued his decision on the specific case. In an open letter to Le Figaro in October 2023, Depardieu had stated that he “never harmed” a woman. “I have never, ever, abused a woman. Hurting a woman would be like kicking my mother in the womb,” he had written.
– IPA Agency photo –
(ITALPRESS).
