Sexual violence

Gérard Depardieu in police custody!

Gérard Depardieu is in police custody in Paris.

(Bild: APA/AFP/BELGA/THIERRY ROGE)

French film star Gérard Depardieu has been summoned by the police following allegations of sexual violence. He has been in custody since Monday morning and is being questioned. This was confirmed by a spokeswoman for his lawyer.

It concerns allegations made by two women who reported him for sexual harassment during the filming of two movies in 2014 and 2021 at the beginning of the year.

According to French media, he is being questioned by the criminal investigation department at a police station in Paris. He is said to have approached the women indecently during filming. Specifically, the films "The Magician and the Siamese" by Jean-Pierre Mocky in 2014 and "Volets vertes" by Jean Becker in 2021 are mentioned. One of the women testified that he brutally grabbed her, wrapped his legs around her like a crab so that his stomach pressed against her breasts. The star's bodyguards had to stop him. 

Depardieu's lawyer Christian Saint-Palais in front of the police station where Depardieu is being questioned.

(Bild: APA/AFP/Antonin UTZ)

Police custody limited in time
Police custody in France is limited in time. Suspects can then be brought before the public prosecutor's office or an investigating judge. Preliminary investigations can thus turn into preliminary proceedings.

The Paris public prosecutor's office merely stated that it could not provide or confirm anything at present. Possible accusations must first be assessed. The parties involved in the proceedings would also be the first to be informed.

Party with Helmut Werner
It was only in March that Depardieu visited Austria to celebrate artist manager Helmut Werner's 40th birthday with him. The 75-year-old was there with his girlfriend Magda Vavrusova.

Gérard Depardieu is in police custody in Paris.

(Bild: APA/AFP/BELGA/THIERRY ROGE)

The police station is located in the 14th arrondissement in Paris.

(Bild: APA/AFP/Antonin UTZ)

Investigations since 2020
The 75-year-old Depardieu has already been reported several times for sexual violence. Since 2020, the judiciary has been investigating the movie star for rape in the case of actress Charlotte Arnould. More than a dozen other women have accused him of assault and harassment.

In December 2023, a documentary caused a stir in France in which, among other things, Depardieu was seen and heard calling women "big sluts" and making numerous vulgar comments about his young translator during a filming trip to North Korea.

For example, he declared: "I weigh 124 kilos, with an erection 126," he says. About a ten-year-old girl on a horse, he says: "When she gallops, she has an orgasm."

"We had to listen to his smut from morning to night," actress Anouk Grimberg, who appeared in the film, recently told AFP.

Depardieu maintains his innocence
The Minister of Culture at the time, Rima Abdul-Malak, decided to examine whether Depardieu should be stripped of his Legion of Honor.

This did not happen in the end. The actor had received the highest French award in 1996. Depardieu lost the National Order of Quebec and his title as an honorary citizen of the Belgian municipality of Estaimpuis. The Paris Wax Museum had his figure removed.

Depardieu rejects the accusations. French President Emmanuel Macron has publicly backed the actor on several occasions and referred to the presumption of innocence.

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Fotos

Great films
Depardieu was one of France's most important actors for decades. Born in Châteauroux in central France, the Frenchman starred in films such as "The Outcasts", "Cyrano of Bergerac", "The Woman Next Door", "The Last Metro" and "Green Card - Marriage of convenience with obstacles".

He played one of France's biggest and fattest heroes, Obelix, four times in the live-action film adaptations: "Asterix and Obelix against Caesar" (1999), "Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra" (2002), "Asterix at the Olympic Games" (2008), "Asterix & Obelix - On Her Majesty's orders" (2012).