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

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PARIS – French actor Gerard Depardieu, who is facing trial for allegedly sexually assaulting two women in a film set in 2021, will not appear in a Paris criminal court 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 alleged assault, which prosecutors say took place on the set of “Les Volets verts” (“The Green Shutters”).

Lawyer Jeremie Assous said that doctors say the actor’s health does not allow him to appear at Monday’s opening of the trial.

Depardieu “is deeply affected and unfortunately the doctors do not allow him to appear for questioning,” Assous told France Info radio.

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

Prosecutors say that in both cases, the victims said the 75-year-old actor trapped them between his legs and groped their buttocks, genitals, chest and breasts above their clothes.

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The trial is scheduled as France continues to grapple with sexual violence in the wake of the #MeToo movement, which has struggled to gain traction, especially in the cinema industry.

Prosecutors say there are witnesses on the film set

It was determined that one of the victims was a 53-year-old set designer. The Associated Press generally does not identify victims of sexual assault without their consent. Her lawyer did not respond to an AP email on the matter.

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

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This was witnessed by three people, prosecutors say, confirming that the woman tried to break free from Depardieu’s grip and appeared “shocked.” A psychiatric examination granted her seven days’ leave.

After the incident, it was agreed that Depardieu would apologize. However, in a television interview broadcast on Saturday, the woman claimed that the actor was furious and blamed her for causing the trouble. The prosecutor’s office said witnesses confirmed that Depardieu’s words did not constitute an apology.

In an interview with French online news site Mediapart, the set designer – who spoke on camera but only gave her first name – said the alleged assault had an impact on her personal and professional life for at least a year and a half. She said she couldn’t sleep well, suffered from anxiety attacks and lost weight.

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According to prosecutors, the woman said it took her some time to file a complaint but decided to do so after hearing on television that no incident had ever occurred during filming.

A month before the alleged assault, another woman who also worked on the film’s set filed a complaint against Depardieu, the Paris prosecutor’s office said.

The director’s assistant told investigators that Depardieu touched her buttocks several times. She expressed her disapproval, and in return, Depardieu, she said, insulted her. She was also given a six-day leave of absence by a psychiatrist.

Assous, Depardieu’s lawyer, told the AP in an email Saturday that “the witnesses and evidence (Depardieu) will present will demonstrate that he is the target of false accusations.”

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Macron and some representatives of the film industry support Depardieu

Despite the allegations against Depardieu, many have expressed support for him, including French President Emmanuel Macron.

Late last year, 56 French performers, writers and producers published an essay in defense of the movie star, stating that when “Gerard Depardieu is targeted in this way, the art (of cinema) is attacked.”

They made the call just weeks after national broadcaster France 2 aired a documentary that exposed Depardieu’s allegations of sexual harassment against 16 women and showed the actor making obscene remarks and gestures during a 2018 trip to North Korea.

The video shows Depardieu moaning and making sexual comments in the presence of women, including an approximately 10-year-old girl riding a horse. He can also be seen posing for a photo, saying he was “touching the butt” of a North Korean translator standing by his side.

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In 2021, he was charged with rape and sexual assault after authorities reopened a 2018 investigation that was initially dropped following allegations made by actress Charlotte Arnould.

In an open letter published in the conservative daily Le Figaro, Depardieu said last year: “I have never, ever abused a woman.”

The actor has long been perceived in France as a national icon. He was a global ambassador for French film and enjoyed international fame thanks to several roles in Hollywood.

Earlier this year, actress Judith Godreche called on the French film industry to “face the truth” about sexual and physical violence at the César Awards, France’s version of the Oscars.

Godreche has already accused two prominent filmmakers of sexually abusing her when she was a teenager, causing a new wave of shock in the industry.

The recent trial of 50 men accused of raping a woman who had previously been drugged and rendered unconscious by her husband shocked the country. Protests spread across the country last weekend in support of the victim, a mother and grandmother in her 70s who has become a hero to many victims of sexual violence for insisting that her trial be open to the public.

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

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