Gerard Depardieu will not appear in sexual assault trial due to health reasons

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PARIS — French actor Gerard Depardieu, who is on trial for allegedly sexually assaulting two women on a movie set in 2021, will not appear in a criminal court in Paris on Monday for health reasons, his lawyer said.

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Depardieu, who has previously denied any wrongdoing, is accused of using “violence, coercion, surprise or threats” in the attack, which prosecutors say took place on the set of “Les Volets verts” (“The Green Shutters”).

Lawyer Jeremie Assous said doctors said the actor’s health condition did not allow him to attend the opening of the trial on Monday.

Speaking to France Info radio, Assous said Depardieu was “deeply affected and unfortunately his doctors did not allow him to attend the hearing.”

Assous said that he would ask the court to postpone the hearing because his client “wants to come, wants to express himself.”

In both cases, victims reported that the 75-year-old actor pinned them between their legs and groped their buttocks, genitals, breasts and breasts through their clothing, prosecutors said.

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The trial was scheduled as France continues to reckon with sexual violence in the wake of the #MeToo movement, which has struggled to gain traction, particularly in the film industry.

Prosecutors say there were witnesses on the movie set

One of the victims was identified as a 53-year-old production designer. The Associated Press generally does not identify victims of sexual assault without their consent. His lawyer did not respond to AP’s email about this matter.

According to Paris prosecutors, the woman told investigators that she first heard sexual remarks from Depardieu and that as she walked past him one day, Depardieu “grabbed her, pulled her towards him, blocked her with his legs and groped her.” her waist, hips and chest, accompanying her movements with obscene words.”

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Prosecutors said three people witnessed the incident, confirming that the woman tried to break free from Depardieu’s grasp and appeared “shocked.” A psychiatrist’s examination gave him seven days’ leave.

It was arranged for Depardieu to apologize following the incident. But in a TV interview broadcast on Saturday, the woman said the actor was furious and blamed her for causing trouble. Prosecutors said witnesses confirmed that what Depardieu said did not constitute an apology.

The production designer, who spoke on camera but only gave his name, said in an interview with French online news site Mediapart that the alleged attack damaged his personal and professional life for at least 1.5 years. He said he couldn’t sleep well, had anxiety attacks and lost weight.

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According to prosecutors, the woman said it took her a while to file a complaint, but she decided to do so after hearing on television that no incidents occurred during the filming.

Paris prosecutors said a month before the alleged attack, another woman who worked on the film set also filed a complaint against Depardieu.

A director’s assistant told investigators that Depardieu touched her buttocks several times. He had expressed his disapproval and said Depardieu insulted him in return. He was also given six days leave by a psychiatrist.

Depardieu’s lawyer, Assous, said in an email to the AP on Saturday that “the witnesses and the evidence that will emerge will show that (Depardieu) was the target of false accusations.”

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Macron and some members of the film industry support Depardieu

Despite the allegations against Depardieu, many people supported him, including French President Emmanuel Macron.

Late last year, 56 French artists, writers and producers published an article defending the movie star, saying: “When Gerard Depardieu is targeted in this way, it is (the art of cinema) that is attacked.”

Their calls come just weeks after national broadcaster France 2 aired a documentary outlining sexual harassment accusations against Depardieu by 16 women and showing the actor making obscene remarks and gestures during a 2018 trip to North Korea.

In the footage, Depardieu is seen making moaning sounds and using sexual expressions in front of women, including a 10-year-old girl riding a horse. She can also be seen posing for a photo while saying that the North Korean interpreter next to her was “touching her bottom.”

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He was charged with rape and sexual assault in 2021 after authorities reopened an investigation that was canceled in 2018 following allegations by actor Charlotte Arnould.

“I have never, ever harassed a woman,” Depardieu said last year in an open letter published in the conservative-leaning newspaper Le Figaro.

The actor has long been considered a national icon in France. He became a global ambassador for French cinema and achieved international fame with a variety of roles in Hollywood.

Earlier this year, actor Judith Godreche called on France’s film industry to “face the facts” about sexual violence and physical abuse at the Cesar Awards ceremony, France’s version of the Oscars.

Godreche had previously alleged that two prominent film producers sexually harassed her when she was young, sending new shockwaves through the industry.

Recently, the ongoing trial of 50 men accused of raping a woman who had previously been drugged and unconscious by her husband shook the country. Protests spread across the country last weekend in support of the victim, a mother and grandmother in her early 70s who became a hero to many victims of sexual violence because she insisted that her trial be public.

Feminist groups called for protests outside the courthouse ahead of Monday’s hearings.

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