Gérard Depardieu withdraws appeal after new damning footage of alleged sexual assault

Gérard Depardieu withdraws his challenge to an 18-month suspended prison sentence for sexual assaults. The 77-year-old actor decided to drop his appeal, although he was scheduled to appear in court from November 16 to 20. This decision, confirmed Thursday by the public prosecutor’s office, coincides with the release of new footage filmed in 2011, showing the actor repeatedly touching a young extra who tries to push his hands away.

Gérard Depardieu abandons his appeal: his 18-month suspended prison sentence will become final

Gérard Depardieu will ultimately not be retried in the case of sexual assaults committed during the filming of the movie Les Volets verts, directed by Jean Becker. While his appeal trial was set to begin next Monday, the actor decided to withdraw his appeal. The public prosecutor’s office confirmed this withdrawal on Thursday, which will make his initial conviction final.

On May 13, 2025, the Paris criminal court sentenced Gérard Depardieu to 18 months suspended prison for sexually assaulting two women during the filming of the movie in 2021. The victims, Amélie and Sarah, had reported unwanted touching by the actor. The judgment also included a two-year ineligibility period and his registration in the judicial file of sexual offenders.

The court also ordered the actor to compensate the two women for their moral damages, as well as additional damages related to the defense’s conduct during the hearings. Gérard Depardieu immediately contested his conviction by appealing, before reversing this decision.

Unreleased footage shows the actor touching an extra who tries to push him away

This withdrawal is announced on the same day as new revelations about Gérard Depardieu’s behavior on another film set. Unreleased footage, recorded on November 2, 2011, during the filming of Turf by Fabien Onteniente, shows the actor repeatedly making physical contact with a 22-year-old extra at the time.

The scene was filmed at the Auteuil racetrack in Paris, while nearly 150 extras were participating in the shoot. In the recordings, Gérard Depardieu appears to touch the young woman’s thigh, buttocks, and crotch repeatedly. She, named Olivia, tries to remove the actor’s hands, but he repeats the actions several times.

The gestures visible in the footage were not part of the film’s script. The recordings, unknown to the public for fifteen years, show the extra’s repeated attempts to escape the touching.

« My panties were no longer enough to protect me »: the extra’s testimony

Found fifteen years after the events, Olivia agreed to testify publicly and with her face shown. Now 37 years old, she describes the gestures she says she endured and her inability to stop them.

« I can’t remove his hands because he puts them back every time I try to remove them. » She explains having tried several times to push the actor away, without managing to prevent further contact.

The young woman also claims that Gérard Depardieu slipped his hand into her neckline and touched her chest several times. She recounts wearing a light dress and having only her underwear to protect herself.

« My panties were no longer enough to protect me. » Olivia explains that she experienced these gestures as sexual assault. At the time, she had not publicly reported the facts.

The casting director claims she had to protect the extras

The revelations also concern how the film crew allegedly reacted to the actor’s behavior. Fany Touya-Calmon, casting director of Turf, claims to have personally tried to prevent Gérard Depardieu from touching the extras during subsequent takes.

She explains having changed their positioning and calculated the necessary distance to keep them out of the actor’s reach. She also says she crouched near the actor to monitor his behavior during filming.

The casting director claims to have alerted the production and director Fabien Onteniente. The latter had already explained in 2023 that he was informed of the incident and reprimanded Gérard Depardieu. Two members of the casting team corroborated Fany Touya-Calmon’s statements.

Another procedure for alleged rapes involving Charlotte Arnould

The withdrawal of his appeal in the Les Volets verts case does not end Gérard Depardieu’s legal troubles. The actor is also implicated in a separate procedure concerning accusations of rape and sexual assault made by actress Charlotte Arnould, for alleged acts committed in August 2018 at her Paris home.

In September 2025, the justice system ordered his referral to the Paris departmental criminal court. As we explained in our article on Gérard Depardieu’s request for dismissal⁠, his lawyers contest this decision and demand the dropping of charges. The public prosecutor’s office, on the contrary, requests the trial to proceed.

Gérard Depardieu has always denied the rape accusations made by Charlotte Arnould, claiming their relations were consensual. The decision of the chamber of instruction will determine whether the actor will indeed be tried before a criminal court.

A conviction now set to become final

By withdrawing his appeal, Gérard Depardieu accepts the judicial consequences of the judgment rendered against him in May 2025⁠. Subject to the effective recording of his withdrawal, the 18-month suspended prison sentence for sexual assaults on two women will become final, without a new trial in this case.

The accusations concerning Olivia and the Turf filming footage constitute a separate case. No judicial conviction has been pronounced regarding these 2011 facts.

Gérard Depardieu’s withdrawal cancels the appeal trial scheduled from November 16 to 20, while the procedure concerning Charlotte Arnould remains pending a judicial decision.