Actor Gerard Depardieu, pictured in 2015, has denied any wrongdoing,Thibault Camus/The Associated Press
A criminal court in Paris decided Monday to postponed the sex assault trial of French actor Gérard Depardieu because of his health concerns, shifting the start of the proceedings to March of next year.
Depardieu, who has denied any wrongdoing, is accused of using “violence, coercion, surprise or threat” in the alleged sexual assaults against two women that prosecutors say took place on the set of the film Les Volets verts (The Green Shutters).
The court also ordered an expert to assess the 75-year-old actor’s health issues. Depardieu’s lawyer Jérémie Assous requested the postponement, saying that the actor has heart trouble and diabetes-related issues.
Assous said that doctors had decided the actor was not well enough to attend the proceedings, although he was eager to appear and defend himself before the court.
“He is anxious to defend himself, because for over three years, a huge number of inaccuracies, false information and lies have been systematically disseminated and relayed,” Assous told the Associated Press. “We’ve only had the word of prosecution. And now, finally, we’re going to be able to have the word of the defence,” he said.
Prosecutors say that in both cases, women reported that the 75-year-old actor trapped them between his legs and groped their buttocks, genitals, chest and breasts over their clothes.
France continues to reckon with sexual violence in the wake of the #MeToo movement that initially struggled to find traction, especially in the cinema industry.
About 100 people gathered outside the court on Monday, some holding signs, responding to a call from several feminist groups to show support for victims of sexual violence. Some activists made their way into the courtroom and sat among other members of the general public attending the hearings.