Tuesday, May 13, 2025 - French actor, Gerard Depardieu, has been found guilty of s£xually assaulting two women and handed an 18-month suspended sentence.
Depardieu, 76, who has appeared in more than 200 movies, was
convicted by a court in Paris of groping the women during the filming of the
2021 film Les Volets Verts.
His lawyer said the star will appeal the verdict.
Both of his victims had been working on the film in
behind-the-scenes roles. They said they were scared to speak out at the time
and intimidated by Depardieu. "I was petrified", said one of the
women, a set designer named Amelie.
She told the court that Depardieu had trapped her between
his legs as she tried to get past him in a corridor, and had then run his hands
over her body. "He terrified me - he looked like a madman," she said.
Depardieu had denied the allegations, and had received
support from many actors, directors, and even at one point, the French
president, Emmanuel Macron, who had previously described the actor as "the
pride of France".
However, his victims said that he attacked them first, using
obscene, vulgar, and explicit language towards the women before sexually
assaulting them.
The court heard that the actor first used vulgar language to
abuse them and then grabbed them and ran his hands over their bodies, making
crude sexual advances towards them.
Depardieu claimed that he did not even know what s£xual
assault was.
But judge Thierry Donard said Depardieu's explanation of
events had been unconvincing and, at times, contradictory
Carine Diebolt, the lawyer representing victim Amelie, told
the court that Depardieu had specifically targeted women who did not enjoy a
high profile, saying he would never treat a famous actor the way he behaved
towards his two victims.
"He is strong with the weak, and weak with the
strong," she said.
During cross-questioning, Depardieu admitted that he had
first denied ever touching Amelie, then said he grasped her hips to stop
himself from falling over, and then claimed he had grabbed her to get her
attention.
Amelie described his account as "obviously completely
false" and said she had been mentally scarred by the encounter.
Away from the court, Ms Diebolt told Sky News that, after
years of being tolerated due to his fame, Depardieu was finally being held
accountable for his actions.
"These women were put in danger," she said.
"This is about a line of offences that he committed over many years that
were tolerated by the world of cinema because it was Gerard Depardieu.
"Because the financial benefits he brings to the
industry are so substantial. He did make some excellent films, but all men are
equal before the law.
"Nobody warned Amelie about Depardieu's behaviour, so
his words and actions came as a terrible surprise for her. She still has
traumatic flashbacks."
Depardieu's reputation is now in tatters, and there may be
more allegations to come.
Diebolt told Sky News that around 20 other women have said
that they were attacked by the actor.
And we already know that Depardieu will stand trial again
later this year, this time charged with raping the actress, Charlotte Arnould.
Ms Arnould has accused Depardieu, a friend of her parents, of raping her
at his mansion in Paris.
When she returned to the house to confront him, she alleges that he raped
her once again. Depardieu denies both allegations. If he were to be found
guilty, he would face a substantial prison sentence.
Depardieu's sexual assault conviction is being seen as an important step
forward for France's growing MeToo movement, which he described as "a
terror" during the proceedings.
After a letter of support Depardieu received prior to the trial from
prominent actors and directors, a separate group of around 600 artists wrote
their own, condemning the culture of "impunity" and calling for the
actor to be fully investigated.
Emmanuelle Dancourt, president of MeToo Media, told me: "Depardieu is
a man with a lot of money around him.
"Everybody could see Depardieu talking badly to women, putting his
hand in the wrong place on a woman's body, and saying things that are wrong
"But Gerard Depardieu's best friend is silence. In France, you have a
wall of silence, and this means impunity. If you are a man with a lot of power
and a lot of money, you can do whatever you want."
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