French actor Gerard Depardieu will face a French court today, charged with the sexual assault of two women on a film set in 2021. Mr Depardieu, 76, is accused of assaulting a set dresser and an assistant director during the filming of Les Volets Verts (The Green Shutters). While more than 20 women have publicly accused him of sexual misconduct, this is the first time one of those cases has gone to trial. Prosecutors say Mr Depardieu trapped one of the women with his legs before groping her waist and breasts in front of witnesses. In an interview with investigative outlet Mediapart, the 54-year-old set dresser alleged Depardieu made sexually offensive comments to her, before grabbing her and having to be pulled away by bodyguards. A second woman, a 34-year-old assistant director, alleged she was groped both on set and in the street. The plaintiffs' identities have not been disclosed to protect alleged victims of sexual violence. Mr Depardieu has denied all allegations. His lawyer called the case baseless and said Mr Depardieu — who recently underwent a quadruple bypass and has diabetes — will attend the two-day trial, reportedly with breaks scheduled to accommodate his health condition. Witnesses and whispers It is the most prominent post-MeToo-era case in France, testing whether a country famed for its culture of seduction is prepared to hold its cultural titans accountable. At the time of the alleged 2021 assaults, Mr Depardieu was already under formal investigation for rape. In 2018, actor Charlotte Arnould accused him of raping her at his home. That case is still active, and in August 2024, prosecutors requested it go to trial. A 2023 documentary, La Chute de l'Ogre (The Fall of the Ogre), reignited debate about his impunity. It showed footage of the actor during a 2018 trip to North Korea, making sexually inappropriate remarks to a female interpreter and appearing to sexualize a young girl riding a horse. For decades, behaviour like this was dismissed as part of his larger-than-life persona. Today, that legacy is under direct challenge. A culture slow to confront abuse When he appears in court, France's most famous male actor will also be confronting a nation long criticised for failing to address sexual violence — particularly when committed by its most powerful figures. Mr Depardieu's trial comes in the fallout of the widely publicised trial of Dominique Pelicot, who was found guilty of repeatedly drugging and raping his then-wife Gisèle for almost a decade, and inviting dozens of strangers to rape her unconscious body in their home. Mr Pelicot and 50 other men were found guilty by a French court and sentenced to between three and 15 years behind bars. The trial forced France to come to terms with an issue the country long struggled with, how to protect the rights and safety of women amidst a culture of seduction and flirtation. Speaking after the sentences were handed down, Gisèle Pelicot said she "never regretted" waiving her right to anonymity and making the trial public, saying she hoped it would help other victims of sexual violence. "I now have confidence in our ability to collectively seize a future in which each woman and man can live in harmony with respect and mutual understanding. I thank you," she said. Ms Pelicot has since become a symbol of the fight against sexual violence in France. "I'm not expressing hatred or hate, but I am determined that things change in this society," she said. Resistance to change French criminal law defines rape as a penetrative act or oral sex act committed on someone using "violence, coercion, threat or surprise". It makes no clear mention of the need for a partner's consent. The Pelicot trial has sparked debate around France's rape laws, with French President Emmanuel Macron and Justice Minister Didier Migaud both saying they were in favour of updating the laws to include the concept of consent. The Depardieu trial will ask questions about France's willingness to hold to account those in its society who have historically been protected. Still, resistance remains. In 2018, actor Catherine Deneuve and more than 100 prominent French women signed an open letter in Le Monde newspaper defending what they called a "freedom to bother". The letter argued that flirtation should not be conflated with harassment and warned against American-style puritanism.