French prosecutors request trial in Depardieu rape probe

Paris prosecutors called Thursday for film legend Gerard Depardieu to face trial for the alleged rape of a fellow actor, ahead of another case against him set to be heard in October.

Depardieu, 75, has been under investigation since 2020 after actor Charlotte Arnould said he raped and assaulted her on two occasions in 2018 at his Paris home.

Although the probe was initially dropped in 2019, Arnould pushed successfully for its reopening the following year and Depardieu was charged in December 2020.

Following the in-depth investigation into the rape and sexual assault claims, it will now be up to an investigating magistrate to decide whether he will face trial.

A lawyer representing Depardieu did not immediately respond to AFP's request for comment.

Arnould's lawyer Carine Durrieu-Diebolt said the move was "the result of a long investigation which was able to gather evidence corroborating the words of my client".

Durrieu-Diebolt added that it was "a huge step forward filled with hope" for Arnould, now aged 28.

Arnould herself wrote on X that she was "extremely relieved and moved" at the news a trial had been requested.

"This gives me hope for what's next, even though I'm staying extremely cautious" before the magistrate's decision, she added.

- 'Manhunt' -

Depardieu, a monument on the French cinema landscape for decades, has denied a string of rape and sexual assault allegations in recent years.

"Never, but never, have I abused a woman," he wrote in a letter published in conservative daily Le Figaro last October in reference to Arnould's allegations.

"A woman came to my home... coming up to by bedroom of her own free will. Today she says she was raped," Depardieu wrote.

"There was never constraint, violence or protest between us," he added.

President Emmanuel Macron unexpectedly weighed into the debate in December, saying that Depardieu faced a "manhunt" and should benefit from the presumption of innocence.

He sought in a May interview to soften those remarks, saying he had "no indulgence" towards Depardieu but insisting that "our principles" -- including the presumption of innocence -- "will allow the judiciary to make a decision in October".

The actor already faces a trial that month for alleged sexual assaults against two different women during a film shoot in 2021.

In January, a former production assistant filed a criminal complaint against Depardieu for alleged sexual assaults during a shoot in 2014.

That investigation was closed as the alleged crime had passed the statute of limitations, along with a complaint from actor Helene Darras for an alleged 2007 sexual assault.

- Directors and bigwigs -

A broader reckoning with sexual assault allegations in French cinema has only slowly been making its way through the justice system since the late 2010s and the emergence of the worldwide #metoo movement.

Last month, well-known film director Benoit Jacquot, 77, was charged with raping actors Julia Roy, 34, and Isild Le Besco, 41.

The allegations emerged after 52-year-old actor Judith Godreche accused Jacquot of raping her during a years-long relationship in the 1980s, which began when she was aged 14.

Prosecutors did not charge Jacquot in Godreche's case because the allegations were past the statute of limitations.

Another director, 80-year-old Jacques Doillon, was released from questioning for medical reasons after himself being accused by Godreche of assaulting her when she was underage.

And in June Dominique Boutonnat, the head of France's National Centre of Cinema (CNC), was given a three-year jail term for sexually assaulting his godson in 2020.

Boutonnat -- who will likely serve only a year under house arrest -- immediately stepped down from leading the country's top film institution, part of whose role is overseeing measures to curb sexual violence in the industry.

Anti-abuse training has become obligatory for films seeking public funding via the CNC.

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