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French actor Gérard Depardieu is scheduled to stand trial in October over allegations of sexual assault against two women in a film set in 2021, prosecutors in Paris said Monday.
The 75-year-old, one of France’s biggest film stars, has also found himself at the center of the nationwide “MeToo” movement in recent years as various allegations about his behavior toward women both on and off-screen came to the surface .
Depardieu was already formally investigated in 2020 for alleged rape and sexual assault in a separate case involving an actress; Prosecutors said Monday they were reviewing the case to decide what steps to take.
The trial, scheduled in a Paris court, will focus on assault allegations made by two women on the set of The green shuttersprosecutors said.
“Gérard Depardieu has been presented with a request to appear before the criminal court,” the Paris prosecutor’s office said.
A lawyer for Depardieu did not respond to a request for comment. The actor has vigorously denied all allegations made against him. He had already been summoned for questioning by the police earlier in the day.
In The green shutters, released in 2022, Depardieu almost plays a version of himself as an aging actor. The actor rose to fame in the 1990s with his portrayal of… Cyrano de Bergeracand in international film Green card.
But his reputation as one of France’s most famous stars is coming under increasing pressure due to such allegations. Last year, 13 women told investigative news site Mediapart that he had sexually abused them, which he also denies.
President Emmanuel Macron sparked a storm of criticism last year when he defended Depardieu in a television interview, saying calls to strip the actor of his Legion of Honor medal amounted to a “witch hunt.”
This reaction came after Depardieu became a topic of discussion on television shows: a French documentary showed him making obscene remarks and gestures toward women during a trip to North Korea in 2018 in a clip that was repeatedly played online.
Macron said Depardieu should be given the presumption of innocence and hit out when asked if the actor had shamed France.
“I am a great admirer of Gérard Depardieu. . . As President of the Republic and as a citizen, I say that he makes France proud,” Macron said.