PARIS (AP) 鈥� Paris' public prosecutor on Thursday requested that be found guilty and given a 18-month suspended prison sentence on the last day of a trial over who were working on a film with him.
The actor, 76, is accused of having groped a 54-year-old set dresser and a 34-year-old assistant during filming in 2021 of the movie 鈥淟es Volets Verts鈥� (鈥淭he Green Shutters鈥�). He denied the accusations.
鈥淵ou鈥檙e going to declare G茅rard Depardieu guilty of these sexual assaults,鈥� the prosecutor told the court. He also requested a fine of 20,000 euros ($21,580). The prosecutor denounced Depardieu's 鈥渢otal denial and failure to question himself.鈥� The actor showed no apparent reaction.
The maximum sentence for the charges is up to five years in prison and a fine of 75,000 euros ($81,000) if convicted. The verdict, decided by a panel of judges, will be rendered on May 13.
Depardieu鈥檚 long and storied career has turned the four-day trial into a post- test of the willingness of France and its movie industry to confront sexual violence and hold influential men accountable.
Alleged misconduct for decades
Earlier on Thursday, the plaintiffs' lawyers called Depardieu a sexual predator and a 鈥渕isogynist鈥� in their final plea.
The set dresser鈥檚 lawyer, Carine Durrieu Diebolt, said that he committed misconduct for decades towards 鈥渓ittle people鈥� in the cinema world.
"Maybe you think he鈥檚 a great actor and you love his films," she said. "Depardieu is also a sexual predator.鈥�
His status as a world-renowned actor made him both an artistic and an economic power in the film industry, in contrast with the plaintiffs, who risked being blacklisted if they spoke up, Durrieu Diebolt said, denouncing what she called a 鈥渟ystem of impunity.鈥�
鈥淒epardieu, when he鈥檚 touching women鈥檚 bodies, he鈥檚 exercising his power over them,鈥� she said.
On Tuesday, Depardieu acknowledged that he had used vulgar and sexualized language with the set dresser. He said he during an argument, but denied that his behavior was sexual.
Plaintiff's lawyer describes a misogynist
The lawyer for the other plaintiff started her plea with a minutes-long list of obscene words and other vulgar expressions rarely heard in a courtroom, saying: 鈥淭hat鈥檚 how Gerard Depardieu behaves on a film set, that the atmosphere he鈥檚 imposing around him.鈥�
鈥淣o, you can鈥檛 separate the man from the artist,鈥� said the lawyer, Claude Vincent. "He is G茅rard Depardieu, a misogynist amid misogynists.鈥�
The plaintiff, an assistant, said that Depardieu groped her buttocks and her breasts during three separate incidents on the film set.
The Associated Press doesn鈥檛 identify by name people who say they were sexually assaulted unless they consent to be named. Neither women has done so in this case.
Vincent noted that Depardieu defended director Roman Polanski, accused in the still-unresolved Los Angeles that prompted him to flee to Europe in 1978. Speaking Wednesday about his career and life, Depardieu mentioned Polanski as being 鈥減ersecuted鈥� for 50 years.
鈥淪ome would say I鈥檓 from the old world. Certainly,鈥� he said.
Depardieu says he鈥檚 鈥渘ot like that鈥�
Three other women 鈥� a journalist, a former costume designer and a comedian 鈥� also testified Wednesday in court that they were sexually assaulted by Depardieu in 2007, 2014 and 2015. Those cases are covered by the status of limitations.
Depardieu has rejected the accusations since the beginning of the trial Monday, saying he鈥檚 鈥渘ot like that.鈥�
He is being tried by a panel of three judges, not a jury, which is normal for such cases. The judges don鈥檛 issue their verdict right away, but generally deliberate for weeks or months.
Depardieu may have to face other legal proceedings soon.
In 2018, actor Charlotte Arnould accused him of raping her at his home. That case is still active, and in August 2024 prosecutors requested that it go to trial.
Sylvie Corbet, The Associated Press
