French actor Depardieu in court as trial over alleged sexual assaults of two women begins

By Elizabeth Pineau and Clotaire Achi

PARIS (Reuters) -Actor Gerard Depardieu went on trial on Monday over alleged sexual assaults on a film set, in a case that placed one of France's best-known movie stars at the heart of the country's broader reckoning over sexual violence.

A towering figure of French cinema, Depardieu has faced a growing number of sexual assault allegations in recent years. Depardieu, 76, has consistently denied any wrongdoing, and this is the first case for which he would be standing trial.

If found guilty, Depardieu could face a sentence of up to five years in jail and a 75,000-euro ($81,000) fine.

The trial, expected to last at least two days, and possibly more, was initially due to be held in October but was postponed due to Depardieu's ill health.

On Monday, Depardieu, his hand on his lawyer's shoulder, passed calmly past reporters, looking straight at the cameras without saying a word, before walking into the courtroom and chatting with a couple of actors present there.

He was expected to make a statement in court on the first day of the trial.

His lawyer, Jeremie Assous, told reporters that the accusations were false and based on lies.

"Truth is on our side," he said.

Prosecutors allege the assaults against two women - whose full identities have not been revealed - took place during the filming in 2021 of "Les Volets Verts" (The Green Shutters).

The prosecutors accuse Depardieu of groping one of the women, whom they named Amelie K, on the film set, pulling her towards him and trapping her with his legs before touching her waist, hips and breasts while saying obscene words. Three people witnessed the scene, prosecutors say.

They say the second woman was groped by Depardieu on set and in the street.

'CINEMA GIANT'

Amelie K's lawyer told Reuters ahead of the trial that her client had been scared to come forward against Depardieu.

"There's a fear, because he's a cinema giant," said Carine Durrieu-Diebolt. "It's a struggle between David and Goliath and they are afraid of retaliation as they all work in cinema but at a much lower level than Depardieu."

The lawyer for the second plaintiff did not reply to Reuters requests for comment.

Dozens of protesters stood outside the court, chanting "We believe you" to show their support for the two plaintiffs.

Depardieu's trial is the highest-profile #MeToo case in the media industry to come before the courts in France, a country where the protest movement over sexual violence has struggled to gain the same traction as in the United States.

Recently, however, there have been signs of a change.

Last year Gisele Pelicot became a global feminist icon after she waived her right to anonymity during the trial of her former husband, who was convicted of drugging her and inviting dozens of men to their home to sexually abuse her over the course of nearly a decade.

Last month a French court found film director Christophe Ruggia guilty of sexually abusing actress Adele Haenel when she was underage.

The accusations against Depardieu, and his trial, have divided French actors. Some have taken his side, and were expected to speak at the trial, while others have backed the plaintiffs.

Actresses Charlotte Arnould, who has accused Depardieu of raping her in 2018 when she was 22, and Anouk Grinberg, who played alongside Depardieu in 'Les Volets Verts' and has publicly criticised him over his sexual conduct, were among those present in the courtroom to follow the proceedings.

The Paris prosecutor's office last year said Depardieu should face trial over Arnould's complaint. Depardieu has denied any wrongdoing. It is now up to an investigative judge to say if there will be a trial over those allegations.

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(Reporting by Elizabeth Pineau, Juliette Jabkhiro, Dominique Vidalon, Antony Paone, Michaela Cabrera, Ardee Napolitano, Lucien Lobert; Writing by Ingrid Melander; Editing by Aidan Lewis, Bernadette Baum, Peter Graff, Hugh Lawson and Sharon Singleton)