Renowned film star Gerard Depardieu, a cornerstone of French cinema, is set to stand trial for allegedly raping actress Charlotte Arnould in 2018, marking another devastating blow to his tarnished reputation following his earlier conviction for sexual assault this year. Arnould first levelled accusations of rape against Depardieu in 2018, detailing two separate instances where she claimed the assaults occurred in his Parisian abode when she was in her early twenties. Depardieu, now 76, has steadfastly denied any wrongdoing.
On Tuesday, the Paris prosecutor’s office affirmed that an investigating judge had decreed the case should proceed to court, a development Arnould disclosed on her Instagram account. No specific court date has been announced as yet. "I find it hard to grasp the magnitude of this. I am relieved," Arnould penned in her post.
Requests for comment from Arnould and Depardieu's legal representatives went unanswered promptly.
Since his meteoric rise to fame in 1974 with "Going Places" and his subsequent starring roles in numerous French-language films, Depardieu has found himself at the epicenter of a burgeoning number of sexual assault allegations in recent times. Arnould, a 29-year-old actress and former ballet dancer renowned for her work in theatre and voice acting, was present in court in May when Depardieu was convicted in a separate case of sexually assaulting two women on a film set. He was handed an 18-month suspended prison sentence, which his lawyer vowed to appeal.
During that trial, Depardieu's lawyer branded Arnould a liar in court. In her Instagram post on Tuesday, Arnould referenced those remarks, describing Depardieu's defense as "outrageous and...utterly unnecessary to uncover the truth."
Initially dropped, Arnould's case was reopened in 2020, with prosecutors seeking a trial for Depardieu in 2022. Since then, Arnould has emerged as a prominent voice in France's #MeToo movement, expressing solidarity with sexual assault victims and demanding accountability within the film industry.
