Gerard Depardio appears before the court due to the sexual assault allegations

On Monday, French actor Gerard Depardio appeared before the Paris Court, where he faces two charges of sexual assault on two women working on a movie that he was starring.

The trial will be the first time that Mr. DePardieu has to answer in court for accusations of touching, sexual assault, harassment, and rape against him for years, which he denied.

The charges came in this experience after two women in a group of “Green shutters,” A movie by French director Jean -Baker, which was released in 2022, submitted complaints from the police that its members adopt the genitals, buttocks and breasts. If convicted, Mr. DePardieu faces up to five years in prison and a fine of 75,000 euros, or about 81,000 dollars.

Mr. DePardieu denied all the charges in the case to the two trial. His lawyer, Jeremy Ajour, described them as “completely liar and unrealistic.”

The trial was to be last October, however Delayed After Mr. DePardieu did not appear for health reasons. Mr. Assous provided the medical assessments that showed that Mr. Depadieu suffered from long -term diabetes and heart problems after undergoing quadruple, and that concern about the experiment had worsened his circumstances.

For many, the issue represents a penetration of the #Metoo movement in France, which has stopped for years, especially in the film industry.

In Ajyal, Mr. Depaardieu, who is now among the most famous actors and the power of France, has controlled the French screen on the French screen for decades, as it appeared in more than 230 films, including, including.Cyrano de BergeracAnd “and”The man in the iron mask“

“He is truly an artist, equally with directors, given his aura. “So the fact that DePardieu was charged with a charge, and he went to trial, meaning that from now to the artist in France is no longer above the law.”

While #Metoo movement Dozens of powerful men In Hollywood immediately after it started in 2017, some viewed its suspicious appearance as an essential American import that established an essential part of France’s intellectual and cultural identity.

The movement brought some small structural changes in the film industry, including mandatory training for producers in preventing sexual violence on groups if films will receive important government subsidies. But she faced strong resistance from a sector that is close to a sacred in France and managing it to a large extent.

“So far, French institutions have covered all these abuses,” said Ms. Celier. “All these institutions are managed by men – who are not missing and who have sparked a party about these violations as long as possible.”

However, in recent months, a number of cases have gone to trial and have condemned. Last fall, the director and actor Nicholas Bedos condemned the sexual assault on two women in 2023 and He was sentenced to one year imprisonmentWhich decreased to six months of house arrest at home with electronic monitoring.

Last month, A French court convicted director Christophe Roger From the sexual assault on actress Adele Hennell when she was a minor, he handed him a four-year-old prison sentence under the arrest of the house and the rest is suspended. Mr. Rojia appealed the ruling.

Mary Limarkand, an actress who is a member of the Association of Actors and Actresses, who was formed in 2021 to pressure for changes in the industry.

“But symbolic, it is very strong, because those people who have been recognized as victims,” ​​said Ms. Limarkand.

The first allegations against Mr. Depadieu arose in the #Metoo era in 2018, when the ambitious actress, Charlotte Arnold, told the police that the actor raped her twice when she was twenty -two years old.

An investigation was dropped in these allegations, then it was taken again in 2020 and continued, according to the Paris Paris Office.

After Mrs. Arnold moved forward publicly, others followed her.

At least three investigations were launched in the allegations of sexual assault and rape against Mr. Depaardieu, which was presented by French and Spanish journalistic actresses. Two were dropped because they had exceeded the statute of limitations.

Mr. DePardieu described all FALSE accusations and media coverage as “execution”. In 2023, Books on the conservative daily, if Figaro It may be “provocative, overflowing, sometimes rude”, but he never spoiled a woman.

Many prominent people rushed to the defense of Mr. DePardieu. The most prominent of which is President Emmanuel Macron from France, who condemned what he called “chase” Actor, who said “France is proud.”

“There is always a protection for the honor of men,” said Ms. Limarsand, noting that Mr. DePardieu has sponsored a system of ignoring sexual assault and violence in the worst case.

However, there was a danger to Mr. Depardio’s individual as a “monster”. She said: “It cannot be separated from the rest of the profession, the environment in which we work,” nor “from the rest of what our society appreciates.”

His lawyer said that the trial is scheduled to last for two days, but it can be extended because the medical expert of the court said that the health of Mr. Depardio allowed him to attend for a period of no more than six hours at a time.

Ségolène Stradic It contributed to the reports from Paris