French court orders rape trial against Gérard Depardieu, seven years after the charge

Renowned French actor Gérard Xavier Marcel Depardieu, commonly known as Gérard Depardieu, was ordered by a French judge on September 2, 2025, to stand trial in a criminal court, according to French media reports, as cited by Deadline. The Jean de Florette star, Depardieu, was charged with rape as actress Charlotte Arnould accused him of raping and sexually harassing her.

The decision of the French criminal court against the 76-year-old Gérard Depardieu comes seven years after the 29-year-old actress, Charlotte Arnould, accused him of raping her in 2018. Arnould, who has starred in movies such as Delta, Non Merci, and Une dernière chance, accused Gérard Depardieu of sexually assaulting and raping her not once but twice. According to Deadline, when Arnould went to visit the veteran actor at his Paris mansion in 2018 to seek acting advice from him, Depardieu allegedly forced himself on her.

Gérard Depardieu, who gradually became an international icon, started his acting career in arthouse movies, slowly becoming a versatile actor and cementing his position in the 1980s, eventually turning into a highly successful and well-established global actor in the early 1990s. While he was nominated for an Academy Award for his performance in Jean-Paul Rappeneau's 1990 romantic drama film Cyrano de Bergerac, Gérard Depardieu has also starred in La Vie en Rose, 1900, The Last Metro, La Chèvre, and many more.

Depardieu, who has also starred in American movies such as The Man in the Iron Mask, How Much Do You Love Me? and Green Card, was found guilty of sexual assault in a court in Paris. He received an 18-month suspended sentence for misbehaving with two women on the set of Jean Becker's drama film The Green Shutters in 2021.

Gérard Depardieu was previously accused of several sexually inappropriate behaviors

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It was not only actress Charlotte Arnould who accused the veteran French actor, Depardieu, of sexual misconduct, but according to Deadline, there have been almost 20 public accusations against him of sexually inappropriate behavior. Some of these allegations date back decades.

However, the Inspector Bellamy actor, Depardieu, who was married to French actress Elisabeth Depardieu from 1970 to 2006, has denied every accusation made against him. He shares a son, Guillaume, and a daughter, Julie, with her. Their son died in 2008. Gérard also has two other kids, Roxane and Jean.

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