Gérard Depardieu was ordered on Monday to stand trial on criminal charges that he sexually assaulted two women during a 2021 film shoot in France, deepening the French actor’s legal woes and further tarnishing his global reputation as he faces a growing number of accusations of sexual violence.
The Paris prosecutor’s office announced that Mr. Depardieu, 75, would be tried in October over allegations that he sexually assaulted the two women on the set of “Les Volets Verts,” or “The Green Shutters,” a movie by the French director Jean Becker that was released in 2022.
The prosecutor’s office did not identify the two women or provide any details about the alleged assaults. Lawyers for Mr. Depardieu did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Monday evening, but the actor has repeatedly denied any sexual misconduct in the past.
The order to stand trial was a serious development for Mr. Depardieu — one of the most prominent men in France to face accusations of sexual wrongdoing, especially since a new wave of allegations swept through the French movie industry in recent months.
Mr. Depardieu has been accused by over a dozen women of groping, harassment, or sexual assault over past years, but he has not stood trial in any of the cases.
An internationally recognized leading man who has played in more than 250 movies, he has become a #MeToo flashpoint in French society.
