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French actor Gérard Depardieu is to face trial in October over allegations of sexual assault against two women on a film set in 2021, prosecutors in Paris said on Monday.
The 75-year-old, one of France’s biggest movie stars, has in recent years also found himself caught at the centre of the country’s equivalent of the “MeToo” movement, as various allegations about his conduct with women both on and offset have surfaced.
Depardieu had already been placed under formal investigation in 2020 for alleged rape and sexual assault in a separate case brought by an actress; the prosecutors’ office said on Monday it was reviewing this case to decide what steps to take.
The trial, set for a Paris court, will focus on assault allegations brought by two women on the set of The Green Shutters, prosecutors said.
“Gérard Depardieu has been handed a request to appear at the criminal court,” the Paris prosecutor’s office said.
A lawyer for Depardieu did not respond to a request for comment. The actor has strenuously denied all the allegations against him. He had been called in for questioning by police earlier in the day.
In The Green Shutters, which came out in 2022, Depardieu plays almost a version of himself as an ageing actor. The actor rose to fame in the 1990s with his portrayal of Cyrano de Bergerac, and in the international movie Green Card.
But his stature as one of France’s most recognisable stars has come under increasing pressure from such allegations. Last year, 13 women told investigative news site Mediapart that he had sexually assaulted them, allegations he also denies.
President Emmanuel Macron sparked off a storm of criticism last year when he came to Depardieu’s defence in a TV interview, saying calls for the actor to be stripped of his Legion of Honour medal amounted to a “witch-hunt”.
That response came after Depardieu had become a subject source of discussion on TV shows: a French documentary had shown him making obscene remarks towards women and gestures during a 2018 trip to North Korea in a clip that was played repeatedly online.
Macron said Depardieu should have a presumption of innocence and hit out when asked whether the actor brought shame on France.
“I am a great admirer of Gérard Depardieu . . . As president of the republic and as a citizen, I say he makes France proud,” Macron said.
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