MARSEILLE, France (CN) — French film star Gérard Depardieu told a Paris courtroom Tuesday that although he behaves crudely at times, he did not sexually assault two women on set in 2021.
This is the most high-profile #MeToo case in French cinema. Experts say that after decades of abuse claims being swept under the rug, a changing paradigm is bringing these issues into the spotlight — something that Depardieu decries.
“This movement is going to become a terror,” he said on Tuesday. “I tell these women that they would do well to reflect on Madame de Staël: ‘Glory is the dazzling mourning of happiness.’”
Anne Bouillon, a prominent French lawyer for survivors of domestic and sexual abuse, disagrees. She thinks the trial demonstrates how the old world of French cinema, an industry that protects itself and the aggressors within, is cracking. This new era marks a break with a culture of patriarchy and impunity, she told Courthouse News.
“#MeToo was a turning point, a historic moment, a political movement, the likes of which we haven’t seen in a very long time,” she said. “And I think that’s where we are today — this trial is happening because of #MeToo.”
The court is examining two charges of sexual assault that plaintiffs say occurred during the filming of “Les Volets Verts” in 2021.
One of the women who was working on the film set, identified as Amélie K, said Depardieu pinned her by wrapping his legs tightly around her waist and proceeded to grope her breasts. He then said, “Come and touch my big parasol, I’m going to shove it up your pussy!” according to her account on Tuesday.
She said that Depardieu looked at her like a madman before she finally managed to unlock his hands.
He said he merely grabbed her hips to keep her from falling. Depardieu denies all the claims against him.
In his testimony, though, Depardieu said he’d noticed that the woman had been shocked by his behavior and language, which he acknowledged can be boorish.
“I’ve always been told I have a Russian nature, I don’t know if it’s because of the drinking or the vulgarity,” he said. “I have said in black and white that I am a disgusting slob.”
But he said he “never, ever” would have held a woman between his legs against her will.
“I’m not like that,” he said.
The star, who has acted in over 200 films, faces up to five years in prison and a fine of 75,000 euros ($81,000) if convicted. The verdict is expected at a later date.
Over the past few years, there have been more than 20 accusations of sexual violence against him; he is under investigation for a charge that he raped actress Charlotte Arnoud in 2018. But this is the first time he has had to answer to any of the claims in court.
Depardieu’s trial was set to last two days but it could be extended. Depardieu, 76, can only spend six hours per day in the courthouse due to a medical order. The trial was initially scheduled for last October but was postponed due to his condition.
On Monday, Depardieu’s lawyer, Jérémie Assous, took some heat for a legal defense strategy that critics say was unnecessarily long and aggressive.
“Yesterday’s hearing was extremely trying for the civil parties — at one point during the hearing, things were so difficult that they felt the need to comfort each other because they were in tears over the criticisms of Gérard Depardieu’s defense,” Bouillon said. “It’s a somewhat traditional defense where the aim is not to come and explain the facts, but rather to discredit the victims’ words by making them out to be liars … . He intended to demonstrate that there were lies, and to demonstrate a conspiracy.”
Bouillon said the lawyers’ strategy was to argue that the case should be dismissed because it was so poorly investigated.
Véronique Le Goaziou, a sociologist and researcher specializing in sexual violence at the Mediterranean Sociology Laboratory, agrees that this trial is highlighting a change of the times. She told Courthouse News that Depardieu and other prominent figures that have been accused of sexual assault — like director Roman Polanski — come from a certain generation whose rules don’t apply anymore.
“These mentalities are slowly changing and a strong movement is needed — women’s bodies are not toys,” she said.
The #MeToo era likely encouraged women to come forward. Previously, these trials might have simply not happened. Rebecca Lévy-Guillain, a researcher with the Center of Research on Social Inequalities at Sciences Po, told Courthouse News that many women traditionally kept quiet.
“I think what’s changing today is the fact that people are speaking out and organizing themselves,” she said. “If there are more and more trials, we can hope that it’ll lead to a shakeup.”
But Lévy-Guillain doesn’t think Depardieu’s trial alone will necessarily change the landscape. It might even bolster some pre-#MeToo era sentiments.
“It doesn’t mean that a lot of people will talk about the subject … On the contrary, it will harden the opposition and polarization a little,” she said. “I think that if it becomes a conviction, it will probably have effects on him at the individual level, but at the collective level, I’m not sure it’ll change radically.
“It rather fosters an environment which, as a more general movement, could give rise to transformations,” she said.
But recently, there have been major trials in France pulling back the curtain on assault. Gisèle Pelicot, who was at the center of a mass rape trial last fall, decided to wave her right to anonymity and make the trial public, which brought global attention to sexual violence. The current trial of Chahinez Daoud, who burned his wife alive in 2021, is bringing widespread attention to the issue of femicides.
“At this moment, in France, there are major feminist trials that are marking our history,” Bouillon said. “We’re currently immersed in the heart of major trials that are collectively challenging us about the society we are, and the society that produces violence against women.”