The French film star Gérard Depardieu was convicted on Tuesday by a court in Paris on accusation of the sexual abuse of two women working on the set of a film in which he played in 2021.
The public prosecutor had asked a suspended sentence of 18 months and a fine of 20,000 euros, or around $ 22,200, after a four -day test at the end of March.
The women – a set of decorator and an assistant director – worked on ‘Les Volets Verts’, a French film from 2021 with Mr. Depardieu.
The set of decorator, now 54, who has only agreed to be publicly identified by her first name, Amélie, said that the Lord Depardieu grabbed her by her waist and pulled her towards him while he sat down. Then he locked her up between his legs and walked his hands over her buttocks, genitals and breasts as he muttered obscenities, she said.
The assistant director, now 34, said that the actor touched her breasts and buttocks three times when she walked him from his dressing room to the set in Paris. She has not agreed to be publicly identified.
Mr. Depardieu, 76, however, denied the sexual attacks in both cases His story about the set of decorator shifted.
In the beginning he said he had taken her waist “to prevent her from slipping”, but later it said “to attract her attention” so that he could admonish her because he did what he thought was a bad job. He said he had never let his hands walk over her body.
As far as the second assistant is concerned, Mr. Depardieu said that her story was impossible, because he never traveled alone without his bodyguard and could not walk without help.
He said that he was not the “vulgar, rude, messy person who is fooling people” he is depicted like in the media. “I respect people. I like to help people,” he told the court in March.
But he also said that he came from a different generation and that his flamboyant, bombastic and non-apologetic personality was bad for the current era.
From the start it was clear that the process was about two sexual attacks by one of the most famous film stars in France. What happened in court, instead was part of a long -awaited statement about the obsession of the country with temptation, the uncritical admiration of his artists and the Storage in France of the #MeToo movement.
Mr. Depardieu is considered one of the greatest actors of his generation, starring in more than 230 films, including “Green Card” and “Cyrano de Bergerac.”
He is central to the debate in France about the #MeToo movement since arrival in the country in 2017, with accusations of sexual abuse that stretched against him. He has strongly denied the accusations and has been publicly defended by prominent French, including leading actors and even the president.
More than 20 women have accused him of sexual abuse, usually by speaking with French news stores, in particular the research website MediaPart. Six of those women submitted complaints to the police – two of which were dropped because they were beyond the status of limitations.
This was the first case against Mr. Depardieu who came to court.
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