A Paris court on Tuesday, May 13th, handed French cinema icon Gérard Depardieu an 18-month suspended sentence after convicting him of sexually assaulting two women on a film set in 2021.
The Paris court also ordered that Depardieu, 76, who was not present in court for the verdict, be inscribed on the sex offenders’ register.
Depardieu, who has acted in more than 200 films and television series, is the highest-profile figure caught up in France’s response to the #MeToo movement.
The whereabouts of Depardieu were not immediately clear. He had in April been working in the Portuguese archipelago of the Azores on a new film directed by his friend, actor Fanny Ardant, who has been outspoken in supporting him.
His lawyer, who represented Depardieu in court, said he would appeal the conviction.
Around 20 women have accused Depardieu of assault or inappropriate behaviour but this was the first case to come to court.
Depardieu denied sexually assaulting the women.
“I’m vulgar, rude, foul-mouthed, I’ll accept that,” he told the court, but he added: “I don’t touch.”
“I adore women and femininity,” he also said, while describing the #MeToo movement as a “reign of terror.”
