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French film icon Gerard Depardieu, 76, will stand trial on charges of raping actress Charlotte Arnould in 2018, marking another major setback to his career following a sexual assault conviction earlier this year. Arnould, then in her early 20s, alleged that the assaults took place on two separate occasions at Depardieu’s Paris home. The Paris prosecutor’s office confirmed that an investigating judge has referred the case to court, though no trial date has been set.

Arnould, now 29 and a theatre and voice actress, expressed relief over the ruling in an Instagram post, calling it “huge” and criticizing Depardieu’s previous courtroom defense, where his lawyer labeled her a liar. She has since become a prominent voice in France’s #MeToo movement, advocating for victims of sexual violence and accountability in the film industry.

Depardieu, one of French cinema’s most recognizable figures since his breakthrough in the 1970s, has faced multiple allegations of sexual misconduct in recent years. In May, he received an 18-month suspended prison sentence for sexually assaulting two women on a film set, a verdict his lawyer vowed to appeal. Arnould’s case, initially dropped in 2018, was reopened in 2020 and formally sent to trial in 2022. Depardieu has denied all wrongdoing.

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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.

Pic Courtesy: google/ images are subject to copyright