(26 Mar 2025)
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Paris – 26 March 2025
1. Wide tracking shot of Gérard Depardieu exiting room for a break
2. Wide tracking shot of Gérard Depardieu returning to the court room.
UPSOUND (French)Reporter off camera: "Are you going to speak Mr. Depardieu?"
UPSOUND (French) Gérard Depardieu, actor: "Perhaps. Maybe."
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Thomas Adamson, reporter, The Associated Press:
"Gérard Depardieu once seemed larger than France itself, with his hulking frame, crooked nose and volcanic charisma. He reigned over cinema for half a century, a national icon as familiar as the baguette. But this week, the actor who once moved writer John Updike to lament ‘I think that I shall never view a French film without Depardieu,’ sat slumped on a special orthopaedic stool in a Paris courtroom, facing a trial that has stretched over several days. The 76 year old star of more than 230 films is accused of groping two women, a set dresser and an assistant during the 2021 filming of ‘The Green Shutters.’ He allegedly trapped one woman with his legs, grabbed her breasts and waist, then shouted crude innuendos followed by a sexually graphic come on. He denies all charges. He faces two counts of sexual assault. If convicted, he could be sentenced to up to five years in prison and fined some $81,000. The case is playing out under France’s distinctive legal system. No jury, just judges and proceedings that move quickly. But this week, it is not only Depardieu who is on trial. For many in France, this case is something more. A reckoning perhaps, a test not only of guilt or innocence, but of readiness. Can a nation long celebrated for its culture of seduction and long criticised for shielding its sacred male icons, finally hold one of them to account?"
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Paris – 24 March 2025
4. 2 x STILL IMAGES: In this artist drawing, French actor Gerard Depardieu listens as he faces trial for the alleged sexual assaults of two women on a film set in 2021, Monday, March 24, 2025 in Paris. (AP Photo/Valentin Pasquier)
STORYLINE:
With his hulking frame and volcanic charisma, Gérard Depardieu reigned over French cinema for half a century, a national icon as familiar as the baguette.
But this week, the actor who once inspired writer John Updike to lament that “I think that I shall never view a French film without Depardieu” sat slumped in a Paris courtroom.
He faces two counts of sexual assault. If convicted, he could face up to five years in prison and a fine of 75,000 euros ($81,000).
But more than Depardieu is on trial.
For many in France, the case marks a cultural reckoning. Can a nation famed for its culture of seduction — and long criticized for shielding male artists — hold one of them accountable?
Depardieu, 76, is accused of groping two women — a set dresser and an assistant — during the 2021 filming of “Les Volets Verts,” or “The Green Shutters”. According to complaints and witness statements, he trapped one woman with his legs, grabbed her breasts and waist and shouted crude innuendo followed by a vulgar come-on.
He denies all allegations. “Never, but never, have I abused a woman,” he wrote in Le Figaro. “I have only ever been guilty of being too loving, too generous, or having a temperament that is too strong.”
This is the first time one of the more than 20 accusations against him has reached court.
Once a symbol of France’s creative power, Depardieu now represents the nation’s delayed reckoning with #MeToo. The courtroom has become the stage for a country confronting the myths it has told itself about art and powerful men.
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