- Title: French actor Depardieu arrives in court for sexual assault trial
- Date: 24th March 2025
- Summary: PARIS, FRANCE (MARCH 24, 2025) (REUTERS) FRENCH ACTOR GERARD DEPARDIEU WALKING IN CORRIDOR IN COURTHOUSE, WITH HIS LAWYER JEREMIE ASSOUS DEPARDIEU AND ASSOUS WALKING PAST JOURNALISTS PEOPLE ENTERING COURTROOM POLICE AND JOURNALISTS STANDING IN FRONT OF COURTROOM ONE OF THE PLANTIFFS, NAMED IN LOCAL MEDIA AS "AMELIE", SMILING AS SHE IS CHEERED BY PROTESTERS OUTSIDE COURTHOU
- Embargoed:
- Keywords: Gerard Depardieu MeToo Paris court sexual assault trial women's rights
- Location: PARIS, FRANCE
- City: PARIS, FRANCE
- Country: France
- Topics: Celebrities,Arts/Culture/Entertainment,Europe
- Reuters ID: LVA001121724032025RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Actor Gerard Depardieu arrived in court in Paris on Monday for his trial over alleged sexual assaults on a film set, a case placing one of France's best-known movie stars at the heart of the country's broader reckoning over sexual violence.
A towering figure of French cinema, Depardieu has faced a growing number of sexual assault allegations in recent years. Depardieu, 76, has consistently denied any wrongdoing, and this is the first case for which he would be standing trial.
The trial started at 13:30 (1230 GMT).
It was postponed after a hearing last October due to Depardieu's ill health.
Prosecutors allege the assaults against two women - whose full identities have not been revealed - took place during the filming in 2021 of "Les Volets Verts" (The Green Shutters).
One of the accusers, who was named in local media as "Amelie," was cheered by women's rights activists staging a demo, as she arrived in court.
They accuse Depardieu of groping one of the women on the film set, pulling her towards him and trapping her with his legs before touching her waist, hips and breasts while saying obscene words. Three people witnessed the scene, prosecutors say.
They say the second woman was groped by Depardieu on set and in the street.
If found guilty, Depardieu could face a sentence of up to five years in jail and a 75,000 euro ($81,200) fine.
Depardieu's trial is the highest-profile #MeToo case to come before the courts in France, a country where the protest movement over sexual violence has struggled to gain the same traction as in the United States.
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