Gérard Depardieu found guilty of sexual assault on film set

A Paris court today has found actor Gérard Depardieu guilty of having sexually assaulted two women on a 2021 film set, giving him an 18-month suspended prison sentence, Euronews reported.

The actor, 76, has been convicted of having groped a 54-year-old costume designer and a 34-year-old assistant during the filming of Jean Becker's Les Volets Verts.

Depardieu, who has denied the accusations, didn't attend today's hearing.

The actor was also slapped with the additional penalty of a two-year disqualification from standing for election, as well as registration in the national automated database of sexual offenders.

In addition to non-material damages, Depardieu has been ordered to pay both women the sums of €1,000 and €2,000 for secondary victimisation. No fine of €20,000 as requested by the public prosecutor, however.

"I hope this is the end of impunity for an artist in the film industry," stated Carine Durrieu-Diebolt, the lawyer of one of the victims. "With this decision, we can no longer say (that Gérard Depardieu) is not a sexual abuser," she added. "My thoughts are with the other victims who are under the statute of limitations and with the four victims who took the stand."

Depardieu will appeal against his conviction for sexual assault, his lawyer Jérémie Assous announced after the hearing.

The case is widely seen as a key post- #MeToo test of how French society and its film industry address allegations of sexual misconduct involving prominent figures.