Gérard Depardieu arrived at a Paris court docket on Monday for his trial over alleged sexual assaults on a movie set, a case that locations certainly one of France’s best-known movie stars on the coronary heart of the nation’s broader reckoning over sexual violence.
Depardieu, 76, has confronted allegations of rape or sexual assault from greater than a dozen girls, all of which he has denied, however that is the primary time he has appeared in court docket to reply accusations.
“He has clearly denied it from the start,” Depardieu’s lawyer, Jérémie Assous, instructed French radio RMC on Monday morning. “Like every particular person dealing with trial, he has the best to talk. He’ll lastly communicate.”
Depardieu walked previous reporters and into the courtroom with out saying a phrase, his hand on his lawyer’s shoulder, earlier than the beginning of the trial round 1:30pm (1230 GMT).
The proceedings, that are anticipated to last as long as three days, have been initially scheduled to begin in October however have been postponed due to Depardieu’s ill-health.
Prosecutors allege that assaults towards two girls, whose full identities haven’t been revealed, befell through the 2021 filming Les Volets Verts, or The Inexperienced Shutters.
They accuse Depardieu of groping one of many girls on the movie set, pulling her in the direction of him and trapping her along with his legs earlier than touching her waist, hips and breasts whereas saying obscene phrases. Three individuals witnessed the scene, prosecutors say.
They are saying Depardieu groped the second girl on set and on the street.
A lawyer for one of many girls stated earlier than the trial that her shopper had been scared to return ahead towards Depardieu.
“There’s a concern, as a result of he’s a cinema big,” stated Carine Durrieu-Diebolt. “It’s a wrestle between David and Goliath and they’re afraid of retaliation as all of them work in cinema however at a a lot decrease stage than Depardieu.”
The lawyer for the second plaintiff didn’t reply to requests for remark.
If discovered responsible, Depardieu might face a sentence of as much as 5 years in jail and a €75,000 (£63,000) fantastic.
Depardieu’s trial is the highest-profile #MeToo case to return to court docket in France.
Supply hyperlink
