By Juliette Jabkhiro
PARIS (Reuters) – French actor Gerard Depardieu is due to stand trial on Monday for the alleged sexual assault of two women on a film set in 2021, although his lawyers said they would be seeking a postponement due to ill health.
Prosecutors say the alleged assaults took place during the filming of “Les Volets Verts” (The Green Shutters).
In an emailed statement to Reuters, Depardieu’s lawyer Jeremie Assous said the actor will put forward witnesses and evidence that “demonstrate that he is the target of false accusations.”
One of France’s top movie stars, Depardieu has been at the centre of a growing number of sexual assault allegations in recent years that have tarnished his legacy.
Depardieu, 75, has consistently denied any wrongdoing.
His trial marks the highest profile #MeToo case to come before the courts in France, a country where the protest movement against sexual violence against women struggled to gain traction in the movie industry and laid bare broader divisions over sexual conduct.
Prosecutors 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 whilst saying obscene words. Three people witnessed the scene, they say.
The second woman was groped by Depardieu on set and in the street, prosecutors allege.
Depardieu’s lawyer said Depardieu would not attend Monday’s hearing on health grounds but wanted to defend himself and that the defence team would seek a deferral.
“He wishes to be present but his health forbids it,” Assous told Reuters.
In response to the mounting number of allegations against him, Depardieu last year wrote in the conservative Le Figaro newspaper: “I have never, ever abused a woman. Hurting a woman would be like kicking my own mother in the stomach.”
If found guilty, he could face a potential five years jail sentence and a 75,000 euros ($80,947.50) fine.
(Reporting by Juliette Jabkhiro; editing by Richard Lough and Sharon Singleton)
