“Extremely affected” Due to the situation, the actor would be unable to appear at the hearing, as two medical certificates produced by his doctors attest. Yet, “he ardently wishes to defend himself” of the accusations to which he is the subject, and which he continues to contest, insisted the same Jérémie Assous. Targeted by numerous accusations of sexual violence, Gérard Depardieu is, in this case, dismissed for sexual assaults likely to have been committed in September 2021, to the detriment of two victims, on the set of the film Green Shutters.
Gérard Depardieu’s trial has opened: his lawyer explains the reasons for his absence in court
“Maybe it’s to maintain the trauma?!”
“This pseudo aggression” has, according to Me Assous, been the subject “an incriminating investigation”he almost screams, denouncing “the scandalous action of the public prosecutor”who would have ruled out “18 testimonies in defense of the procedure”. On this shoot, “Gérard Depardieu was under the observation of 40 people! All the testimonies of those who say that they were present were dismissed, is that not a scandal? It is an obvious manifestation of disloyalty!” The president, Thierry Donard, calmly warns him: “You are addressing the merits, Master… I remind you that you are pleading for a request for referral…” No effect. Jérémie Assous takes things up a notch, going so far as to mention the photos published on the Internet by a complainant in which she appears with Gérard Depardieu. “Maybe it’s to maintain the trauma?! Who knows…” Muted cries of indignation rise from the benches. The lawyer’s long and stormy diatribe will not have helped much. If not to annoy the representative of the prosecution, Laurent Guy, who denounces “an argument which has no place at this stage of the procedure”aiming simply to “entertain the gallery”.
The dismissal was almost a foregone conclusion. Neither the prosecution nor the civil parties objected. “It seems important that Mr. Depardieu is present at the hearing”recognized from her first words Me Carine Durrieu-Diebolt, who represents one of the two plaintiffs. His colleague, Me Claude Vincent, simply underlined his “surprise” facing this “last minute request”SO “that the state of health [de Gérard Depardieu] has been known for a very long time.” “I have the feeling that we are being presented with a fait accompli.” Both simply requested an independent medical assessment, ultimately ordered by the president of the 10th chamber of the criminal court.
“Poacher of the law”, “reality TV lawyer”: who is Jérémie Assous, Gérard Depardieu’s lawyer at his trial for sexual assault?
A few moments earlier, around a hundred people, mostly women, had gathered in front of the courthouse in support of the complainants. A multi-colored sign “my France is ASHAMED of you” in hand, Christelle Nique, 46 years old, furniture salesperson, would not have missed this meeting for anything in the world. “It’s historic, she judged. The sacred monster who makes his country so proud will finally be judged, after decades of impunity.” A meeting with justice postponed for a few months.
