A Paris court has rejected Gérard Depardieu’s request to drop the investigation into him following an accusation of rape.
Prosecutors discontinued an initial inquiry into the French actor in 2019 due to a lack of evidence.
They later resumed the case when a new complaint was made to police.
Proceedings were relaunched after the complainant claimed to be an “injured party”.
After initially making the accusation anonymously, actor Charlotte Arnould later came forward to reveal that she made the complaint, stating that she “could not bear to remain silent any longer”.
Although Depardieu made a request for the case to be dropped, the Paris appeal court has decided to uphold the investigation.
“The chamber considers that there are, at this stage, serious and consistent signs justifying that Gerard Depardieu remain under investigation,” reads the statement, published on Thursday.
The actor has previously “firmly rejected” the accusation, through his lawyer. As of yet, Depardieu has not been indicted.
Depardieu is best known for his roles in Cyrano de Bergerac and The Last Metro. The 73-year-old has starred in scores of French-language movies, rising to prominence in 1974 with Going Places, and gained international recognition with a starring role in the 1990 English-language comedy Green Card. He won a Golden Globe best actor award for the role.
His role in Cyrano de Bergerac earned him the award for Best Actor at the 1990 Cannes film festival, as well as a nomination in the Best Leading Actor category at the Academy Awards in 1991.
In 2013, Vladimir Putin granted Depardieu Russian citizenship. The actor received his new passport in person from Putin at the Russian leader’s residence on the Black Sea coast.
If you have been raped or sexually assaulted, you can contact your nearest Rape Crisis organisation for specialist, independent and confidential support. For more information, visit their website here.
