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French actor Gérard Depardieu, one of France’s most prominent cinematic figures, was found guilty on Tuesday of sexually assaulting two women during the production of the 2022 film “Les Volets Verts” (“The Green Shutters”), CBS News reported earlier this week. The 76-year-old actor was convicted of inappropriate touching involving a 54-year-old and a 34-year-old woman while on set in 2021. The court handed him an 18-month suspended prison sentence and ordered him to pay a total of €31,540 (approximately $35,250) in fines, most of which will be distributed to the two victims. The court also requested that Depardieu be placed on France’s national sex offender registry.
According to one plaintiff’s attorney, Depardieu plans to appeal the verdict. Speaking to the press, the actor’s legal representative said, “Today, from the moment you are implicated in a sexual assault case, you are automatically found guilty,” and criticized what he described as contradictions and inconsistencies in the plaintiffs’ testimony.
The women, whose identities have not been disclosed, accused Depardieu of inappropriate physical contact during filming. One woman alleged that he grabbed and groped her waist, stomach, and breasts. The other accused him of touching her chest and buttocks. The investigative news outlet Mediapart reported that more than a dozen crew members who worked on the film corroborated the women’s accounts.
Depardieu’s conviction marks a milestone in France’s evolving #MeToo movement. Once hailed as a giant of French cinema, Depardieu has faced growing criticism amid mounting allegations of sexual abuse. Over his six-decade career, he has starred in over 250 films, including critically acclaimed roles in “Cyrano de Bergerac,” “The Man in the Iron Mask,” and Kenneth Branagh’s “Hamlet.”
The actor has previously faced similar accusations. In 2020, Paris prosecutors charged him with rape and sexual assault related to an incident in 2018 involving Charlotte Arnould, a young actress who claimed Depardieu assaulted her when she was 22. That case is expected to proceed to trial following an August 2024 request by prosecutors.
The reaction to Tuesday’s verdict has been swift. Anne-Cécile Mailfert, president of the women’s rights group La Fondation des Femmes, said Depardieu had long benefited from the industry turning a blind eye due to his reputation. “Everybody has been very tolerant because he’s supposedly a genius,” she told The Washington Post. “And you’re supposed to tolerate anything a genius does.”
The court also fined Depardieu an additional €2,000 ($2,228) for the manner in which his attorney treated the victims during the trial. The presiding judges deemed the defense’s courtroom conduct—including shouting and calling the women liars—as grounds for additional financial penalties. In March, over 180 French attorneys condemned the defense team’s tactics in a Le Monde op-ed, characterizing them as sexist and beyond the bounds of appropriate legal practice.
While Depardieu’s defense argued that questioning the sincerity of the accusations was a legitimate legal strategy, the court’s decision sends a strong signal. “It says that when it comes to sexual violence, nobody is above the law,” said Mailfert.
The verdict came just as the Cannes Film Festival opened, prompting immediate reaction from the French film community. Cannes artistic director Thierry Frémaux was asked whether films featuring Depardieu would be barred. He responded that Depardieu had paid his dues and would not be excluded. Actress Juliette Binoche, however, responded differently when asked about the actor’s legacy, calling him a man who is “no longer sacred.”
