There may be intense curiosity within the trial of Gerard Depardieu in Paris.
Warning: This text accommodates particulars of alleged sexual assaults that some readers may discover distressing.
Members of the general public queued to get entry to the prison courtroom, regardless of the very fact Depardieu‘s lawyer had mentioned that the actor was too sick 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 group 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 wonderful 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 mentioned 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 someday as she handed him in a hall, he had grabbed her, pulled her in the direction of him, pinned her down along with his legs, and kneaded her on the waist, hips and chest, accompanying his gestures with obscene feedback.
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.
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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 mentioned has by no means “abused a girl”.
The courtroom determined that his trial can be postponed till March subsequent 12 months due to his well being issues.
Depardieu’s authorized group has requested for a six-month delay to the proceedings with a well being verify in three months after a health care provider confirmed he was affected by points together with hypertension and issues from diabetes.
They mentioned his well being means he at the moment can not sit for lengthy durations of time and the stress would have an effect on his ongoing well being difficulty.
The actor’s authorized group 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 choose requested Depardieu’s lawyer to not stray from the subject of the doable postponement.
Attorneys for the ladies instructed the panel of judges that the delay needs to be as brief as doable to keep away from including to their trauma.
In addition they requested for additional impartial well being checks to be carried out.
The actor has been provided assist by a bunch of actors and administrators, who mentioned that an assault on Depardieu represented “an assault on artwork itself”.
The trial is seen as an enormous second for the rising MeToo motion in France, with Depardieu essentially the most high-profile particular person to be accused.
MeToo, which grew to become well-known in America throughout the Harvey Weinstein rape case, exists to spotlight sexual violence towards girls and to push for extra motion by authorities.
It has typically positioned a give attention to areas reminiscent of filmmaking – industries which have lengthy been dominated by males.
French President Emmanuel Macron has described Depardieu as “the delight of France”, sparking an indignant 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 “loopy” and mentioned “it provides a really unhealthy picture of our nation”.