French film icon Gerard Depardieu to be tried over alleged sexual assaults
29 April 2024, 20:31 | Updated: 29 April 2024, 20:54
Actor and icon of French cinema Gerard Depardieu has been summoned for police questioning over sexual assault allegations made by two women, according to French media.
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Broadcaster BFMTV and the daily Le Parisien both reported that the 75-year-old actor was called in for police questioning in Paris on Monday.
The allegations centre around two separate sexual assaults that took place while on movie sets.
The Paris police, the Paris prosecutor's office, Depardieu's lawyers and a lawyer for one of the alleged victims did not immediately respond to Associated Press emails seeking comment.
BFMTV and Le Parisien reported that the police summons relates to accusations of sexual assault filed by two women who accuse him of groping during filming - one in 2014, the other in 2021.
Depardieu has also been accused by more than a dozen other women of harassing, groping or sexually assaulting them.
He was handed preliminary rape and sexual assault charges in 2020 following allegations from actor Charlotte Arnould. Depardieu denies wrongdoing. In an open letter last October, he said: "I have never, ever abused a woman."
Depardieu was long seen as a national icon in France.
He has been a global ambassador for French film and enjoyed international fame with several roles in Hollywood.
