By Peter Omopo
September 2, 2025
A French investigating judge has ordered veteran actor Gerard Depardieu to stand trial on charges of raping and sexually assaulting actress Charlotte Arnould in 2018, legal sources confirmed on Tuesday.
The ruling, dated August 28, follows a series of legal troubles for the 76-year-old star, who was handed an 18-month suspended sentence in May after being convicted of sexually assaulting two women on a film set in 2021.
Depardieu, widely regarded as one of France’s greatest actors, has denied the latest allegations, insisting his relationship with Arnould was consensual.
Arnould, who first filed a complaint in 2018, described the court’s decision as a relief after “seven years of horror and hell.” Her lawyer, Carine Durrieu-Diebolt, welcomed the order, calling it “a form of judicial truth” while awaiting the criminal trial.
According to court documents, Arnould accused Depardieu of twice raping her in August 2018 at his Paris home. The investigating magistrate noted her testimony was “clear and precise” and corroborated by CCTV footage, while Depardieu’s statements were described as “shifting.”
Depardieu, who has appeared in more than 200 films, rose to global fame with performances in classics such as Cyrano de Bergerac, Green Card, and Life of Pi. However, his reputation has been heavily tarnished in recent years, with more than a dozen women accusing him of abuse.
The date of his trial has not yet been set.
In May, a Paris court convicted the actor of sexually assaulting two women during the filming of Les Volets Verts (“The Green Shutters”). He was ordered to register as a sex offender, a ruling he has appealed.
Depardieu’s legal troubles have made him the most high-profile figure linked to France’s #MeToo reckoning.
