Gérard Depardieu to face trial in Paris over rape and sexual assault allegations

Disgraced French movie star Gérard Depardieu has been summoned to trial before a criminal court in Paris over allegations of rape and sexual assault against actress Charlotte Arnould.

“I feel relieved,” Arnould wrote on Instagram on today after receiving the investigating judge's indictment order. “The order restores a form of judicial truth. I think I’m having trouble realizing how huge this is.”

Arnould's lawyer, Carine Durrieu-Diebolt, told Franceinfo media she was “extremely satisfied” and described the decision as a “moment of judicial truth in this case.”

The case dates back to 2018, when prosecutors in Paris opened a preliminary investigation after Arnould accused Depardieu of raping her at his home.

“The acts of rape and sexual assault have been acknowledged,” Arnould said. “Now, we await the next steps.”

Prosecutors submitted a request last year for the case to proceed to trial.

Depardieu, 76, was convicted earlier this year of sexually assaulting two women on a film set and received an 18-month suspended prison sentence in a case that was widely seen as a post-#MeToo test for the country’s film industry.

The actor was convicted of groping a 54-year-old woman responsible for decorating the set and a 34-year-old assistant during the filming of Les Volets Verts in 2021.

The court ordered his name to be listed in the national sex offender database.

Depardieu has been accused publicly or in formal complaints by more than 20 women. So far, only the sexual assault case has proceeded to court. Other cases were dropped because of a lack of evidence or an expired statute of limitations.

The trial's date has not yet been set.