There may be intense curiosity within the trial of Gerard Depardieu in Paris.
Warning: This text comprises particulars of alleged sexual assaults that some readers would possibly discover distressing.
Members of the general public queued to get entry to the felony courtroom, regardless of the very fact Depardieu’s lawyer had stated that the actor was too unwell to attend on Monday.
There wasn’t a free seat within the courtroom as proceedings started.
Within the entrance row, flanked by their legal professionals, had been the ladies who allege the French movie star sexually assaulted them on the set of a film in 2021.
To their left, the slick metropolis authorized staff representing the 75-year-old actor.
Depardieu is accused of two sexual assaults. If discovered responsible it might carry a sentence of 5 years in jail and a tremendous of €75,000 (£62,000).
Each girls allege that on separate events the actor pinned them between his legs and touched their genitals, buttocks and chest over their garments, the courtroom heard.
Considered one of them stated that whereas she was a set decorator for the movie Les Volets Verts (The Inexperienced Shutters), she heard Depardieu make a number of sexual feedback.
She alleges that at some point as she handed him in a hall, he had grabbed her, pulled her in the direction of him, pinned her down together with his legs, and kneaded her on the waist, hips and chest, accompanying his gestures with obscene feedback.
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Depardieu’s lawyer Jeremie Assous solutions media questions as he arrives on the listening to. Pic: Reuters
The second girl acknowledged that Depardieu had touched her buttocks on the street, then touched her chest a number of days afterward the set of the shoot, and touched her buttocks once more on one other event.
The actor denies all of the allegations.
Depardieu, who has appeared in additional than 200 movies, is taken into account an icon of French cinema.
He has been accused of sexual assault by greater than a dozen different girls and is embroiled in a separate case the place he’s accused of rape.
In an open letter, he stated has by no means “abused a woman”.
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Pic: Reuters
The courtroom determined that his trial could be postponed till March subsequent yr due to his well being considerations.
Depardieu’s authorized staff has requested for a six-month delay to the proceedings with a well being examine in three months after a health care provider confirmed he was affected by points together with hypertension and problems from diabetes.
They stated his well being means he at present can’t sit for lengthy intervals of time and the stress would have an effect on his ongoing well being difficulty.
The actor’s authorized staff additionally demanded that extra time be put aside for the trial to allow them to name additional witnesses.
On a number of events, the presiding decide requested Depardieu’s lawyer to not stray from the subject of the potential postponement.
Legal professionals for the ladies instructed the panel of judges that the delay must be as brief as potential to keep away from including to their trauma.
Additionally they requested for additional impartial well being checks to be carried out.
The actor has been supplied assist by a bunch of actors and administrators, who stated that an assault on Depardieu represented “an attack on art itself”.
The trial is seen as an enormous second for the rising MeToo motion in France, with Depardieu probably the most high-profile individual to be accused.
MeToo, which turned well-known in America in the course of the Harvey Weinstein rape case, exists to focus on sexual violence towards girls and to push for extra motion by authorities.
It has typically positioned a concentrate on areas equivalent to filmmaking – industries which have lengthy been dominated by males.
French President Emmanuel Macron has described Depardieu as “the pride of France”, sparking an offended response from campaigners who claimed he was undermining efforts to guard girls from violence.
French actress Lea Seydoux, recognized for her position within the Bond movie No Time To Die, described Mr Macron’s phrases as “crazy” and stated “it gives a very bad image of our country”.
