Gérard Depardieu discovered responsible of sexual assault in landmark French trial : NPR
Actor Gerard Depardieu arrives on March 24, 2025, in Paris to face trial for the alleged sexual assaults of two ladies on a movie set in 2021.
Aurelien Morissard/AP
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Aurelien Morissard/AP
PARIS – A French court docket on Tuesday discovered Gérard Depardieu responsible of sexually assaulting two ladies on a movie set, sentencing the French movie icon to an 18-month suspended jail time period.
Judges mentioned each ladies gave constant, credible accounts of being groped by the actor, with witness testimony supporting their claims.
Whereas the court docket acknowledged some uncertainty across the timing and site of Sarah’s assault, it emphasised the energy of her descriptions and corroboration.
Depardieu, 76, had denied all wrongdoing, and his lawyer mentioned he would attraction.
The decision marks a significant second for France’s long-stalled reckoning with #MeToo, and with broader questions on how assault is outlined, significantly inside the movie business.
“With this resolution, we will not say [that Gérard Depardieu] is just not a sexual abuser,” Carine Durrieu-Diebolt, a lawyer for one of many victims, informed reporters exterior the courtroom shortly after the decision was introduced.
The case was initially anticipated to be heard in late 2024, nevertheless it was postponed a number of occasions, first as a result of scheduling points, after which for medical causes cited by the protection.
The trial opened in March 2025 and lasted 4 days.
Prosecutors in March requested for the 18-month suspended jail sentence and a effective of as much as €200,000 (roughly $221,000).
