Gérard Depardieu, the star of French cinema, is being referred to trial for rape and sexual assault against actress Charlotte Arnaud, regarding incidents allegedly occurring in 2018 in Paris. At the time, Arnaud, then 22 years old, stated that 70-year-old Depardieu raped and abused her on August 7 and 13, 2018. Arnaud, the daughter of a friend of the actor, reported Depardieu to the police just days after the alleged incidents.

Although Depardieu categorically denied the accusations in an open letter in October 2023, insisting that the encounter was consensual—writing, “I have never, ever abused a woman”—the Paris court has decided to move forward with the trial. Arnaud’s lawyer, Karin Djouiri-Dibot, said that both she and her client feel relieved and optimistic about the case’s progression.

The prosecutor’s proposal for the trial states that Depardieu “forced the victim to submit to his will and endure sexual acts to which she had no ability to resist.” Arnaud, now 29, expressed her emotional relief on social media, saying that after seven years of torment and horror, she cannot fully comprehend the magnitude of the case, but she feels relieved.

In a separate trial, Depardieu was convicted in May 2023 and sentenced to 18 months suspended prison for sexual assault against two women during the filming of the movie Les Volets Verts in 2021. The judge also ordered that his name be added to France’s list of sexual offenders.