Gerard Depardieu’s sexual assault trial marks a cultural reckoning for post-#MeToo France-OxBig News Network

Gérard Depardieu won’t just be facing two women who accuse him of sexual assault when he walks into a Paris courtroom on Monday. France’s most famous male actor will also be confronting a nation long criticised for failing to address sexual violence — particularly when committed by its most powerful figures.

Depardieu, 76, is accused of assaulting a set dresser and an assistant director during the 2021 filming of Les Volets Verts (The Green Shutters). While more than 20 women have publicly accused him of sexual misconduct, this is the first time one of those cases has gone to trial.

It is also the most prominent post-#MeToo era case in France, testing whether a country famed for its culture of seduction is prepared to hold its cultural titans accountable.

Prosecutors say Depardieu trapped one of the women with his legs before groping her waist and breasts in front of witnesses. In an interview with investigative outlet Mediapart, the 54-year-old set dresser said Depardieu shouted on set that he “couldn’t even get it up” because of the heat, then told her: “Come and touch my big parasol. I’ll stick it in your [nether regions].” She said he then grabbed her forcefully and had to be pulled away by bodyguards.

A second woman, a 34-year-old assistant director, alleged she was groped both on set and in the street. The plaintiffs’ identities have not been disclosed to protect alleged victims of sexual violence.

Depardieu has denied all allegations.

In an open letter published in Le Figaro in October 2023, he wrote: “Never, but never, have I abused a woman. To think that I have hurt someone or made them feel uncomfortable is intolerable to me.”

He added, “I have only ever been guilty of being too loving, too generous, or of having a temperament that is too strong.”

His lawyer, Jérémie Assous, called the case baseless and said Depardieu — who recently underwent a quadruple bypass and has diabetes — will attend the two-day trial, reportedly with breaks scheduled to accommodate his health condition.

France has often been ambivalent — even resistant — toward the #MeToo movement. While Hollywood saw powerful men fall swiftly and publicly, the French film industry was slower to respond. Some dismissed #MeToo as an American export incompatible with French values, citing concerns over free expression and what they viewed as an erosion of flirtation culture.

Roman Polanski, convicted in the United States of unlawful sex with a minor and accused by several other women, continues to live and work in France with near-total impunity. Despite international outcry, he remains a decorated figure in French cinema. His 2020 César Award for Best Director — for An Officer and a Spy — prompted several women, including actress Adèle Haenel, to walk out of the ceremony in protest.

Roman Polanski. File.
| Photo Credit:
AP

Yet the industry offered little institutional pushback, highlighting a deep-rooted reluctance to confront abuse when it involves revered cultural figures.

In February, director Christophe Ruggia was convicted of sexually abusing Haenel when she was a child. The actress, who had already quit the film industry in protest, has become one of the country’s most prominent voices on abuse.

Judith Godrèche, an actor and filmmaker, has also emerged as a leading figure. In February 2024, in a televised testimony, she addressed a French parliamentary commission, accusing directors Benoît Jacquot and Jacques Doillon of sexually exploiting her as a teenager — allegations both men deny. “This is not about desire or love,” she told lawmakers. “It is about power. It is about a system that enables silence.”

Director Judith Godreche, center, poses with hands covering their mouth upon arrival at the premiere of the film ‘Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga’ at the 77th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Wednesday, May 15, 2024.
| Photo Credit:
AP

That same commission has called major actors and producers — including Jean Dujardin — to testify. Several reportedly requested that their appearances be held behind closed doors.

Anouk Grinberg, a respected actor who appeared in Les Volets Verts, has publicly supported the plaintiffs. She described Depardieu’s behavior as vulgar and disturbing, saying she felt “a sense of shame” on set.

At the time of the alleged 2021 assaults, Depardieu was already under formal investigation for rape. In 2018, actor Charlotte Arnould accused him of raping her at his home. That case is still active, and in August 2024, prosecutors requested it go to trial.

Over a career spanning five decades, Depardieu starred in more than 200 films, including Cyrano de Bergerac, Jean de Florette, Green Card, and The Man in the Iron Mask. But his off-screen controversies have long made headlines, from drunk driving to urinating in the aisle of a plane.

A 2023 France Télévisions documentary, La Chute de l’Ogre (The Fall of the Ogre), reignited debate about his impunity. It showed footage of the actor during a 2018 trip to North Korea, making sexually inappropriate remarks to a female interpreter and appearing to sexualize a young girl riding a horse.

For decades, behavior like this was dismissed as part of his larger-than-life persona. Today, that legacy is under direct challenge.

Godrèche, who told lawmakers she was 14 when Jacquot first exploited her, has called for reforms to France’s statute of limitations on child sex crimes and new protections for minors in the arts. Her testimony — alongside those of other survivors — has brought rare political attention to a culture of silence that many say pervades French cinema.

Still, resistance remains.

In 2018, actor Catherine Deneuve and more than 100 prominent French women signed an open letter in Le Monde newspaper defending what they called a “freedom to bother.” The letter argued that flirtation should not be conflated with harassment and warned against American-style puritanism.