French film star Gerard Despardou faces prison term and registration as a sex offender if convicted of today’s attacks.
At the trial six weeks ago, the court heard testimony from two women who said the 76-year-old actor sought out them while working on a film set in Paris in 2021. Depardou denied the allegation.
Summary before the judge on March 27th, prosecutor Laurent Guy said:
“You are not here to make a judgment on French film. You are here to judge Gerard Despardou, just like any other citizen.”
Prosecutors asked for an 18-month prison term and a fine of €20,000 (£16,850) and a list of sex offenders.
Claude Vincent, who represents one of the two female plaintiffs, described Depardieu as a “mymonious” and “a study of cases in sexism.”
However, in defense, Jeremy Assas demanded an acquittal, calling the plaintiff’s team “more extremists than lawyers.”
“They can’t even bear that there should be a defense. They think any defense is a supplementary assault,” he told the court.
The suspicious attack came in September 2021 when DePaldieu was making a film called Les Veretz Bass (Green Shutter) about an aging actor that coincides with his decline in power.
It was the first time an actor has appeared in court on sexual assault charges. Several other women have filed similar allegations in the media, and the alleged rape case could be brought to trial.
The first plaintiff – the set decorator – told the court that after a small argument with Depardieu, he caught her between his legs and hugged her with his hips.
The second woman – the assistant director – said the actor touched her ass and breasts through her clothes on three separate occasions.
Depardieu denied the allegations, saying that he may have touched the woman by chance, or that he only had to balance him.
At the end of the hearing, Depardieu said:
“A trial can be a very special experience for an actor. Look at all this rage, the police, the press. It’s like being in a science fiction movie except that it’s not science fiction. It’s life.”
He thanked the prosecutors and defense teams for giving them insight into how the courts are run. “These lessons might be inspiration for me one day if I could play a lawyer,” he said.
Depardieu said he hadn’t worked as an actor for three years since sexual allegations against him began to circulate.
However, earlier this month, it was reported that he had started working in the Azores in a film directed by his friend Fanny Ardanto. Media reports say Depardieu plays a magician on a mysterious island.
Ardant appeared at Les Volets Verts with Depardieu and spoke in his defense at trial.
“Genius – in any form – brings in it the luxurious elements, untouched, dangerous things.
Another veteran French actress sided with Despardou on Monday. In a rare interview with French television, 90-year-old Brigitte Bardot lamented that “the talented people who touch the girl’s butt are left to the deepest dungeons.”
“Feminism isn’t about me,” Bardot said. “Personally, I like men.”
