Gérard Depardieu Found Guilty of Sexual Assault, Given Suspended Sentence

French film icon Gérard Depardieu, 76, has been found guilty of sexually assaulting two women on the set of the 2021 film Les Volets Verts. A Paris court handed him an 18-month suspended jail sentence and placed him on the national sex offenders register. The victims, a set designer named Amélie and assistant director Sarah, accused the actor of groping them during filming. While Depardieu denied all allegations, the court found inconsistencies in his testimony and awarded each woman €1,000 in compensation for “secondary victimisation” endured during the trial.

The verdict marks a significant moment in the French film industry, with the plaintiffs’ lawyer calling it “a victory for all the women behind this case” and a sign that impunity for powerful figures in cinema is being challenged. The ruling came just hours before the Cannes Film Festival was set to begin, underlining the cultural weight of the decision. Prosecutors emphasized that the trial was about justice for individual victims, not a referendum on French cinema.

Depardieu, who did not attend the verdict as he was filming in the Azores with actress Fanny Ardant, described the trial as a surreal experience and claimed his name was “dragged through the mud.” This was his first criminal conviction related to sexual misconduct, though other allegations and a possible rape trial may follow. Despite support from figures like Ardant and Brigitte Bardot, the case has reignited debate over accountability in the entertainment industry.

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