French film star Gérard Depardieu has to stand trial over allegations of sexual violence. As the Paris public prosecutor announced on Monday, the trial against the 75-year-old is scheduled to begin in October. Depardieu had previously been temporarily taken into police custody and questioned at a Paris police station about allegations from two women who accused the actor of assaults during filming in 2021.
The public prosecutor’s office also stated that Depardieu received a court summons at the end of the interrogation. The subject of the proceedings are alleged sexual assaults that are said to have taken place in September 2021 on the set of the film “Les volets verts” by director Jean Becker.
After hours of interrogation on Monday, Depardieu was released from police custody, according to his lawyer. “Police custody has ended. He will no longer be held at the police station,” Depardieu’s lawyer Christian Saint-Palais said as he left the police station. Depardieu rejected the two women’s allegations during the interrogation.
Investigations since 2020
A set designer had accused the actor of sexually harassing her in 2021 while filming the film “Les volets verts” by director Jean Becker. Depardieu made numerous offensive comments, she told Medipart magazine. He also “brutally grabbed” her and groped her “at the waist, stomach and up to her breasts”. The actor’s bodyguards finally stopped Depardieu. “We had to listen to his bullshit from morning to night,” actress Anouk Grimberg, who starred in the film, recently told AFP. “When producers hire Depardieu, they know he is an aggressor,” she added.
The lawyer for the set designer allegedly attacked by Depardieu, Carine Durrieu-Diebolt, spoke to the AFP news agency of “relief” in view of the legal action against Depardieu. Durrieu-Diebolt also represents a woman who accuses the actor of crimes from 2014. According to her statements, Depardieu groped the woman and used foul language during the filming of the film “Le Magicien et les Siamois”.
Depardieu has already been reported several times for sexual violence. Since 2020, the judiciary has been investigating the alleged rape of actress Charlotte Arnould against the movie star. The actress Hélène Darras had also reported him for rape, but the case was dropped due to the statute of limitations. Journalist Ruth Baza sued Depardieu for rape in Spain in 1995.
Depardieu denies all allegations
Around 20 women have now accused the actor of assault and harassment in the media or before the judiciary. Depardieu has so far rejected all allegations. “I have never abused a woman,” he wrote in an open letter published in October.
French President Emmanuel Macron had publicly supported the actor several times and referred to the presumption of innocence. Depardieu is one of France’s most famous film stars. He worked with the country’s most important directors and actresses and starred in more than 200 films and series.