{"id":8884,"date":"2025-05-13T10:42:43","date_gmt":"2025-05-13T10:42:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/firearmman.com\/?p=8884"},"modified":"2025-05-13T10:42:46","modified_gmt":"2025-05-13T10:42:46","slug":"french-actor-gerard-depardieu-found-guilty-of-sexual-assault-on-a-2021-film-set","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/firearmman.com\/?p=8884","title":{"rendered":"French actor G\u00e9rard Depardieu found guilty of sexual assault on a 2021 film set"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

PARIS — <\/span>French movie star G\u00e9rard Depardieu<\/a> \u2019s fall from grace is now complete.<\/p>\n

Depardieu was found guilty Tuesday of sexually assaulting two women on the set of a movie in which he starred in 2021 and given an 18-month suspended prison sentence. He was also fined a total of 29,040 euros (around $32,350), and the court requested that he be registered in the national sex offender database.<\/p>\n

The actor, 76, has been convicted of having groped a 54-year-old set dresser and a 34-year-old assistant during the filming of \u201cLes Volets Verts\u201d (\u201cThe Green Shutters\u201d). The case was widely seen as a key post-#MeToo test of how French society and its film industry address allegations of sexual misconduct involving prominent figures.<\/p>\n

Depardieu, who has denied the accusations, didn’t attend the hearing in Paris. Depardieu\u2019s lawyer said that his client would appeal the decision.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is the victory of two women, but it is the victory of all the women beyond this trial,\u201d said Carine Durrieu-Diebolt, the set dresser’s lawyer. \u201cToday we hope to see the end of impunity for an artist in the world of cinema. I think that with this decision we can no longer say that he is not a sexual abuser. And today, as the Cannes Film Festival opens, I\u2019d like the film world to spare a thought for G\u00e9rard Depardieu\u2019s victims.”<\/p>\n

Depardieu\u2019s long and storied career \u2014 he told the court that he\u2019s made more than 250 films \u2014 has turned him into a French movie giant. He was Oscar-nominated in 1991 for his performance as the swordsman and poet Cyrano de Bergerac.<\/p>\n

During the four-day trial in March, Depardieu rejected the accusations, saying he\u2019s \u201cnot like that.\u201d He acknowledged that he had used vulgar and sexualized language on the film set and that he grabbed the set dresser’s hips<\/a> during an argument, but denied that his behavior was sexual.<\/p>\n

The set dresser described the alleged assault, saying the actor pincered her between his legs as she squeezed past him in a narrow corridor.<\/p>\n

She said he grabbed her hips then started \u201cpalpating\u201d her behind and \u201cin front, around.\u201d She ran her hands near her buttocks, hips and pubic area to show what she allegedly experienced. She said he then grabbed her chest.<\/p>\n

The woman also testified that Depardieu used an obscene expression to ask her to touch his penis and suggested he wanted to rape her. She told the court that the actor\u2019s calm and cooperative attitude during the trial bore no resemblance to his behavior at work. <\/p>\n

The other plaintiff, an assistant, said that Depardieu groped her buttocks and her breasts during three separate incidents on the film set. <\/p>\n

The Associated Press doesn\u2019t identify by name people who say they were sexually assaulted unless they consent to be named. Neither women has done so in this case.<\/p>\n

Paris\u2019 public prosecutor had requested that Depardieu be found guilty and given an 18-month suspended prison sentence and a fine of 20,000 euros ($22,200). The prosecutor denounced the actor’s \u201ctotal denial and failure to question himself.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some figures in the French cinema world have expressed their support for Depardieu. Actors Vincent Perez and Fanny Ardant were among those who took seats on his side of the courtroom.<\/p>\n

Depardieu has been accused<\/a> publicly or in formal complaints of misconduct by more than 20 women, but so far only the sexual assault case has proceeded to court. Some other cases were dropped because of a lack of evidence or the statute of limitations.<\/p>\n

The actor may have to face other legal proceedings soon.<\/p>\n

In 2018, actor Charlotte Arnould accused him of raping her at his home. That case is still active, and in August 2024 prosecutors requested that it go to trial.<\/p>\n

For more than a half-century, Depardieu stood as a towering figure in French cinema, a titan known for his commanding physical presence, instinct, sensibility and remarkable versatility.<\/p>\n

A bon vivant who overcame a speech impediment and a turbulent youth, Depardieu rose to prominence in the 1970s and became one of France\u2019s most prolific and acclaimed actors, portraying a vast array of characters, from volatile outsiders to deeply introspective figures.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Samuel Petrequin contributed to this report.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

PARIS — French movie star G\u00e9rard Depardieu \u2019s fall from grace is now complete. Depardieu was found guilty Tuesday of sexually assaulting two women on the set of a movie in which he starred in 2021 and given an 18-month suspended prison sentence. He was also fined a total of 29,040 euros (around $32,350), and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8885,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8884","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-us-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmman.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8884","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmman.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmman.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmman.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmman.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8884"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/firearmman.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8884\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8886,"href":"https:\/\/firearmman.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8884\/revisions\/8886"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmman.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8885"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmman.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8884"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmman.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8884"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmman.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8884"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}