Gérard Depardieu sexual assault trial adjourned until March

Gerard Depardieu's trial on sexual assault charges has been postponed until March because the French actor is in poor health, a Paris court has said.

Depardieu, 75, was absent when the trial began earlier Monday, with his lawyer requesting a delay in the proceedings, citing his client's health problems.

The highest-profile #MeToo case to hit France has accused Depardieu of assaulting two women while filming the 2021 film Les Volettes Verts (The Green Shutters).

Prosecutors said he made explicit sexual comments to two members of the production team and then aggressively “groped” them. He faces up to five years in prison if convicted.

He denied the allegations, saying he had never “mistreated a woman”.

Proceedings began at around 13:30 local time (12:30 GMT) at a criminal court in the French capital. Depardieu's lawyer Jeremy Assos told French media that the actor was “deeply affected” by the illness and that his doctors had advised him not to attend the trial.

Assous added that his client asked for the delay because he “wants to appear before the court, to express himself”, but proceedings continued in his absence.

The court president then decided to adjourn the trial to March 24-25, ordering the actor's medical evaluation.

The trial is seen as a major moment for France's #MeToo movement, with Depardieu the highest-profile figure in French cinema to face sexual assault allegations. The women – who have not been named – say Depardieu made sexual comments to them. They say he “violently seized” and “polluted” them.

Depardieu's lawyer accused the women of “false accusations”. He also claimed the woman was trying to “make money” by demanding €30,000 ($32,500; £25,000) in compensation, Le Monde reported.

Since the allegations surfaced, Depardieu has become a virtual pariah. He has not appeared in a film since 2022, and the following year he faced a second trial for raping actress Charlotte Arnold twice at her home in Paris. He denied the allegations.

Depardieu has accused more than a dozen other women of sexual assault.

Despite the mounting complaints, the star has received strong messages of support from some members of France's artistic community. A group of more than 50 actors, directors and producers said in a letter published last year that the allegations against Depardieu were an “attack on the industry”.

The letter, signed by actors Charlotte Rampling, Carol Bouquet, Pierre Richard and singers Carla Bruni and Jacques Dutronc, said they “cannot remain silent in the face of lynching”. [Depardieu]”

French President Emmanuel Macron also drew ire after he described the actor as “the pride of France” last year. Macron added that Depardieu was being “manhunted”. Campaigners said the comments undermined efforts to protect women from violence.

Actress Léa Seydoux called Macron's comments “crazy”, adding that it “gives a very bad image for France”.

Despite Macron's support, his then-culture minister Rima Abdul-Malak said she would look into revoking Depardieu's Légion d'Honneur after footage of him making sexual comments about women in a 2018 documentary surfaced in North Korea.