By james art PARIS (AP) — French actor Gerard Depardieu, who is on trial for allegedly sexually assaulting two women on set in 2021, will not appear at a Paris criminal court on Monday for health reasons, his lawyer said.
Depardieu, who previously denied wrongdoing, is accused of using “violence, coercion, surprise or threat” in the alleged attack, which prosecutors say took place on the set of “Les Volets verts” (“The Green Caps”). .
Lawyer Jeremy Asus said doctors say the actor’s health prevents him from appearing for the opening of the trial on Monday.
Depardieu “is deeply affected and unfortunately his doctors do not allow him to attend the hearing,” Asus told France Info radio.
Asus said he would ask the court to postpone the trial because his client “wants to come, he wants to express himself.”
Prosecutors say that in both cases, the victims reported that the 75-year-old actor grabbed them between his legs and groped their bottoms, genitals, breasts and breasts over their clothes.
The trial was timed as France continues to come to terms with sexual assault in the wake of the #MeToo movement, which has struggled to gain traction, particularly in the film industry.
Prosecutors say there are witnesses at the scene
One of the victims has been identified as a 53-year-old production artist. The Associated Press does not typically identify victims of sexual assault without their consent. Her attorney did not respond to an email from the AP about this.
According to prosecutors in Paris, the woman told investigators that she first heard sexual remarks from Depardieu and then one day, as she was walking past him, he “grabbed her, pulled her towards him, blocked her with his legs and groped her waist, hips and breasts, accompanying his gestures with obscene remarks.”
Three people witnessed it, prosecutors said, confirming that the woman tried to break away from Depardieu’s grip and that she appeared “shocked”. A psychiatric examination gives her a seven-day leave.
After the incident, Depardieu was arranged to apologize. But in a television interview aired on Saturday, the woman said the actor was furious and accused her of causing trouble. Prosecutors said witnesses confirmed that what Depardieu said did not constitute an apology.
In the interview with French online news site Mediapart, the production designer, who spoke on camera but gave only her first name, said the alleged assault had affected her personal and professional life for at least a year and a half. She said she couldn’t sleep well, suffered from anxiety attacks and was losing weight.
The woman, according to prosecutors, said it took her a while to file a complaint, but she decided to do so after hearing on television that there had never been an incident during filming.
A month before the alleged assault, another woman also working on the film’s set complained about Depardieu, Paris prosecutors said.
An assistant director told investigators that Depardieu touched her rear several times. She voiced her disapproval and in return, Depardieu, she said, insulted her. She was also given six days of psychiatric leave.
Asus, Depardieu’s lawyer, told the AP in an email Saturday that “the witnesses and the evidence (Depardieu) will provide will show that he is the target of false accusations.”
Macron and some members of the film industry support Depardieu
Despite the accusations against Depardieu, many have come out in support of him, including French President Emmanuel Macron.
Late last year, 56 French performers, writers and producers published an essay defending the film star, saying that when “Gérard Depardieu is targeted in this way, it is the art (of cinema) that is under attack.”
Their call came just weeks after national television France 2 aired a documentary outlining allegations of sexual assault by 16 women against Depardieu and showed the actor making obscene remarks and gestures during a trip to North Korea in 2018.
The footage shows Depardieu making moaning sounds and making sexual comments in front of women, including a girl aged around 10 who is riding a horse. He can also be seen posing for a photo, saying he is “touching the bottom” of a North Korean translator next to him.
In 2021, he was charged with rape and sexual assault after authorities reopened a 2018 investigation that was initially dropped following allegations by actor Charlotte Arnold.
In an open letter published in the conservative newspaper Le Figaro, Depardieu said last year: “I have never, ever abused a woman.”
The actor has long been considered a national icon in France. He is a global ambassador of French cinema and enjoys international fame with several roles in Hollywood.
Earlier this year, actor Judith Godrech called on the French film industry to “face the truth” about sexual and physical abuse during the César Awards ceremony, France’s version of the Oscars.
Godresh had earlier alleged that two prominent filmmakers sexually abused her when she was a teenager, sending new shockwaves through the industry.
More recently, the ongoing trial of 50 men accused of raping a woman who had previously been drugged and rendered unconscious by her husband has rocked the country. Protests spread across the country last weekend in support of the victim, a mother and grandmother in her early 70s who became a hero to many victims of sexual assault because she insisted her trial be open to the public.
Feminist groups called for a protest outside the courthouse ahead of Monday’s hearings.
Diane Jeantet, Associated Press