A French investigating judge has ordered cinema legend Gérard Depardieu to stand trial on charges of raping and sexually assaulting actor Charlotte Arnould in 2018, sources close to the case and Arnould’s lawyer confirmed on Tuesday.
The ruling follows Depardieu’s 18-month suspended sentence in May, when a Paris court convicted him of sexually assaulting two women on a film set in 2021.
Depardieu, 76, denies raping or assaulting Arnould, insisting their relationship was consensual.
“Seven years later, seven years of horror and hell… I think I’m struggling to realise how huge this is. I’m relieved,” said Arnould, who first filed her complaint in 2018.
Her lawyer, Carine Durrieu-Diebolt, welcomed the decision, confirming Depardieu will stand trial over two alleged rapes by digital penetration at his Paris home in August 2018. “My client and I are relieved and confident. This is a form of judicial truth for Charlotte while she awaits the criminal trial,” she said.
The trial date has not yet been set.
The case was initially dismissed for lack of evidence, but Arnould later filed as a civil party, triggering a judicial investigation in 2020. She publicly accused Depardieu in 2021, alleging he raped her twice when she was 22, weighing just 37 kilos due to anorexia.
Depardieu rejected the claims in a 2023 letter to Le Figaro: “Never, ever, have I abused a woman. There was never any coercion, violence, or protest between us.”
The star of more than 200 films and television series, Depardieu has become the most high-profile figure entangled in France’s #MeToo reckoning. Over a dozen women have accused him of sexual misconduct.
In May, he was also convicted of sexually assaulting a set dresser and an assistant director during the filming of Les Volets Verts (The Green Shutters), directed by Jean Becker. The court ordered him to register as a sex offender.