The trial will take place in France’s criminal court, which tries serious crimes punishable by five years or more in prison if a conviction is reached, per The Hollywood Reporter. “Seven years later, seven years of horror and hell… I think I’m having trouble realising how huge this is. I’m relieved,” Arnould wrote in French (translated by The Guardian) in an Instagram post reacting to the news.
The case against Depardieu has been seen as a landmark in France’s #MeToo movement. In May, the actor was found guilty of assaulting two women, a set dresser and an assistant director, on set of the film Les Volets Verts (The Green Shutters) in 2021. Overall, Depardieu faces over 20 public allegations of assault and misconduct, all of which he has denied. “Never, ever have I abused a woman. Hurting a woman would be like kicking the womb of my own mother,” he wrote in an open letter in 2023.
A recent report by French politicians surveyed almost 400 people and concluded that sexual violence, harassment and bullying were “systemic, endemic and persistent” to the French entertainment industry, per The Guardian. At the same time, many prominent French creatives and industry professionals have defended Depardieu. In 2023, dozens of entertainers including Charlotte Rampling, Carole Bouquet, and Nathalie Baye signed a letter decrying the “lynching” of Depardieu in the public eye. French president Emmanuel Macron also previously spoke kindly of Depardieu, saying that the actor “makes France proud” and that “you will never see me participate in a manhunt.” The president later clarified his statement, saying last year that he “just want[s] a respect for our principles, such as the presumption of innocence.”
“I used the expression ‘manhunt’ in a gender-neutral way,” Macron added, per Deadline. “I don’t like media trials, justice by tweets, and in general. We are in a society which seeks to kill people in a few days, and then forgets them.” At the same time, he asserted, “My priority has always been the protection of victims, and this is also the case for the Depardieu affair.”
