Verdict due Tuesday in Depardieu sexual assault trial

A court in Paris on Tuesday is set to hand down a verdict in the sexual assault trial of French cinema icon Gerard Depardieu, a case that gripped the country for weeks.

As the ruling will coincide with the start of the Cannes Film Festival, it is likely to be among the biggest talking points on the first day of what is one of the main events on the cinema calendar.

Depardieu, who has acted in more than 200 films and television series, is the highest-profile figure caught up in France's response to the #MeToo movement.

He has been accused of improper behaviour by around 20 women, but this is the first case to come to trial.

The trial relates to charges of sexual assault during the filming in 2021 of "Les Volets Verts" ("The Green Shutters") by director Jean Becker.

Nearly two months after the high-profile proceedings, the Paris Criminal Court will deliver its verdict from 10:00 am (0800 GMT) Tuesday.

The plaintiffs are a set dresser, 54, identified only as Amelie, and a 34-year-old assistant director, who accuse the actor of sexual assault. Only Amelie is expected to be present to hear the verdict.

Depardieu, 76, might not be in attendance.

The actor, who had complained that he had been out of work for three years, is set to star in a film directed by his friend, actor Fanny Ardant. The shooting of the scenes involving Depardieu began in April in the Portuguese archipelago of the Azores.

- 'Foul-mouthed' -

n March, lead prosecutor Laurent Guy recommended an 18-month suspended jail sentence for Depardieu, arguing that the assaults reported by the two women were "intentional".

He said Depardieu should also be ordered to undergo psychological treatment, and be added to France's sex offender registry.

Amelie said that the actor had behaved like a "wild animal" on set in 2021. Depardieu had boasted he could "give women an orgasm without touching them", she said.

She also said Depardieu made "obscene remarks" including: "Come and touch my big parasol. I'll stick it in your pussy."

The actor has denied sexually assaulting the women.

"I'm vulgar, rude, foul-mouthed, I'll accept that," he told the court, but he added: "I don't touch."

"I adore women and femininity," he also said, while describing the #MeToo movement as a "reign of terror".

Throughout the trial, Depardieu has been supported by his daughter Roxane, his ex-partner Karine Silla and actor Vincent Perez.

Long-time friend Ardant, 76, testified in his favour.

"I have never witnessed anything that I found shocking," she said.

"I know that you can say no to Gerard."

- 'Sexism and misogyny' -

Lawyers representing the two plaintiffs complained of the tension in the courtroom and denounced the approach of Depardieu's defence team.

The actor's lawyer Jeremie Assous called the two women "liars" and "hysterical". They were working for the cause of "rabid feminism", he argued.

Claude Vincent, the assistant director's lawyer, lamented in her closing statement: "What we witnessed was not a defence strategy," but "an apology for sexism."

In an open letter, a group of nearly 200 French lawyers urged the judiciary to fight what they called courtroom sexism.

Depardieu's lawyer had "used sexism and misogyny to his heart's delight" to discredit the plaintiffs and their legal team, they said.

Depardieu has also been indicted in another case following a rape complaint filed by actor Charlotte Arnould, 29. Prosecutors have requested a trial.

In April, French MPs criticized "endemic" abuse in the entertainment industry after a six-month inquiry.

Depardieu became a star in France from the 1980s with roles in "The Last Metro", "Police" and "Cyrano de Bergerac", before Peter Weir's "Green Card" also made him a Hollywood celebrity.

He later acted in global productions including Kenneth Branagh's "Hamlet", Ang Lee's "Life of Pi" and Netflix's "Marseille" series