The spotlight is once again on veteran French actor Gerard Depardieu. He’s been called to appear in a criminal court in Paris. The charges? Rape and sexual assault. Actress Charlotte Arnould is the accuser, alleging physical abuse against him.
Charlotte Arnould shared her feelings on social media, expressing relief and happiness. She said the court order “restores a form of judicial truth.” Arnould mentioned she was having trouble understanding “how big a deal this is.”
Her lawyer, Carine Durrieu-Diebolt, did not comment directly at first. However, she later told Franceinfo media that she was very pleased. She called the court’s decision a “moment of judicial truth” in the case.
This case goes back to 2018. That’s when prosecutors in Paris first started an investigation. It followed Arnould’s accusations that Gerard Depardieu had raped her at his home. Arnould has stated, “The acts of rape and sexual assault have been acknowledged. Now, we await the next steps.” Prosecutors had asked for the case to go to trial last year.
This isn’t Depardieu’s first brush with such allegations. Earlier this year, he was found guilty of sexually assaulting two women on a film set. For that, he received an 18-month suspended jail sentence. Gerard Depardieu has been one of French cinema’s most famous faces for decades.