Paris – The French actor Gérard Depardieu, who is on trial for the alleged sexual assault of two women on a film set in 2021will not appear in criminal court in Paris on Monday due to health reasons, his lawyer said.
Depardieu, who has previously denied any wrongdoing, is accused of using “force, coercion, surprise or threat” in the alleged attack, which prosecutors say took place on the set of “Les Volets verts” (“The Green Shutters”) .
Lawyer Jérémie Assous said doctors say the actor’s health does not allow him to appear at the opening of the trial on Monday.
Alessandro Bianchi / REUTERS
Depardieu “has been deeply affected and unfortunately his doctors will not allow him to appear at the hearing,” Assous told radio France Info.
Assous said he will ask the court to postpone the trial because his client “wants to come out, wants to express himself.”
Prosecutors say the victims in both cases reported that the 75-year-old actor pinned them between his legs and groped their buttocks, genitals, chest and breasts over their clothing.
The trial was planned as France continues to reckon with sexual violence in the wake of the #MeToo movement that has struggled to find traction, especially in the film industry.
Accusations from one woman
One of the victims has been identified as a 53-year-old production designer. The Associated Press does not generally identify victims of sexual assault without their consent. Her lawyer did not respond to an AP email about the matter.
According to Paris prosecutors, the woman told investigators that she had first heard sexual comments from Depardieu and that one day, as she walked past him, he “grabbed her, pulled her towards him, held her with his legs had blocked her and groped her’. waist, hips and chest, accompanying his gestures with obscene remarks.”
Three people witnessed it, prosecutors said, confirming that the woman attempted to break free from Depardieu’s grasp and appeared “shocked.” After examination by a psychiatrist, she was given seven days’ leave.
After the incident it was agreed that Depardieu would apologise. But in a TV interview broadcast on Saturday, the woman said the actor was furious and blamed her for causing trouble. Prosecutors said witnesses confirmed that what Depardieu had said did not constitute an apology.
In the interview with French online news site Mediapart, the production designer – who spoke on camera but gave only her first name – said the alleged attack had taken a toll on her personal and professional life for at least a year and a half. She said she couldn’t sleep well, suffered from anxiety and had lost weight.
According to prosecutors, the woman said it took some time to file a complaint, but she decided to do so after hearing on television that no incident had ever occurred during the shoot.
Another woman’s accusations
The month before the alleged assault, another woman who also worked on the film set had complained about Depardieu, Paris prosecutors said.
An assistant director told investigators that Depardieu touched her buttocks several times. She had expressed her disapproval and in return Depardieu had insulted her, she said. She was also given a six-day leave by a psychiatrist.
Assous, Depardieu’s lawyer, told the AP in an email Saturday that “the witnesses and evidence will show (Depardieu) that he is the target of false accusations.”
Despite the allegations against Depardieu, many have expressed his support, including French President Emmanuel Macron.
Late last year, 56 French artists, writers and producers published an essay defending the movie star, saying that when “Gérard Depardieu is attacked in this way, it is the art (of cinema) that is being attacked.
Previous accusations
Their call came just weeks after national broadcaster France 2 released a documentary detailing allegations of sexual misconduct by 16 women against Depardieu and showing the actor making lewd comments and gestures during a 2018 trip to North Korea.
The footage shows Depardieu making moaning noises and sexual comments in the presence of women, including a girl about 10 years old who is riding a horse. He also poses for a photo and says he “touched the bottom” of a North Korean interpreter at his side.
He was charged with rape and sexual assault in 2021 after authorities revived a 2018 investigation that was initially dropped following allegations from actor Charlotte Arnould.
In an open letter published in the conservative-leaning newspaper Le Figaro, Depardieu said last year: “I have never abused a woman.”
The actor has long been seen as a national icon in France. He was a global ambassador for French cinema and enjoyed international fame with various roles in Hollywood.
Earlier this year, actor Judith Godrèche called on the French film industry to “face the truth” about sexual violence and physical abuse at the Cesar Awards ceremony, France’s version of the Oscars.
Godrèche had previously alleged that two leading filmmakers sexually assaulted her when she was a teenager, sending new shockwaves through the industry.
More recently, the ongoing trial of 50 men accused of raping a woman who had previously been drugged and rendered unconscious by her husband shook the country. Last weekend, protests spread across the country in support of the victim, a mother and grandmother in her early 70s who has become a hero to many victims of sexual violence for insisting her trial be public.
