The delayed trial of French actor Gérard Depardieu over the alleged sexual assault of two women on the set of a movie filmed in 2021 opens on Monday in Paris. With a prolific international career, he is the highest-profile figure in French cinema to face such accusations in the wake of the #MeToo movement.
The hearing was postponed in October because Depardieu was too unwell to appear in court, according to his lawyer.
The names of the two women who have accused him of the assaults have not been made public.
Both worked with Depardieu on the film Les volets verts (The green shutters), filmed in a private house in Paris in 2021.
Depardieu, 76, has denied the charges, and his lawyer said he would provide "witnesses and evidence that will show he has simply been targeted by false accusations".
Since his debut in the late 1960s, Depardieu has featured in more than 200 films and won a clutch of domestic and international awards to become a giant of French cinema.
He is also facing allegations of sexual harassment and assault from more than a dozen women, but enjoys the support of many in the film industry, who say he is the subject of a witch hunt.
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A Paris court is still deciding whether to go ahead with a second trial for his alleged rape and sexual assault of Charlotte Arnould, the first woman to file a criminal complaint against Depardieu in 2018.
Depardieu is also under investigation for alleged tax fraud. French tax investigators suspect him of falsely declaring his tax residency as Belgium since 2013 to avoid paying taxes in France.
Financial crime prosecutors opened a probe in February, which resulted in raids in France and Belgium as well as police interviews, although the actor has not been questioned.
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In 2012 Depardieu said he would move to Belgium to protest a wealth tax introduced by then-president François Hollande.
His move to Nechin, a small town near the French border known as a haven for wealthy French people, sparked criticism in France, with Depardieu then threatening to give up his citizenship.
He acquired Russian citizenship in 2013 from President Vladimir Putin, who Depardieu has praised, calling him "the man Russia needs".
