French star Gerard Depardieu was due to appear before a Paris criminal court on Monday on trial for allegedly sexually assaulting two women during a 2021 shoot.

More complaints and a possible second court case are also looming for the 75-year-old, who is accused of using “violence, coercion, surprise or threat” in the alleged attacks.

However, Depardieu’s lawyer said he asked for a postponement for health reasons.

“Gerard Depardieu is extremely affected and unfortunately his doctors have forbidden him to be present at the hearing, which is why he will ask for a postponement to a later date to be able to participate,” Jeremie Assous told Franceinfo.

What are the charges against the actor?

Prosecutors say the attacks took place on the set of “Les Volets Verts” (“Green Shutters”).

The victims in both reported that Depardieu grabbed them between their legs and groped their private areas over their clothes.

Paris prosecutors say a complainant told investigators she first heard lewd remarks from Depardieu.

An hour later, the woman said she was “brutally grabbed” by Depardieu as she left the set.

He allegedly pinned her down by “closing his legs” around her before groping her waist and stomach, continuing to her breasts.

During the incident, she said Depardieu made “obscene remarks”.

Prosecutors said three people witnessed the incident, confirming that the woman tried to break Depardieu’s grip and appeared “shocked”.

Depardieu denied the allegations.

Depardieu faces allegations from around 20 women

Around 20 women have now accused Depardieu of various sexual offences, with actor Charlotte Arnould being the first to file a criminal complaint.

Arnould, now 28, filed a criminal complaint against Depardieu in August 2018, alleging he raped her twice that month at his Paris home, claims Depardieu also denies.

While investigators dismissed the complaint for lack of evidence in 2019, Arnould was able to reopen it.

In August, prosecutors requested that the actor be tried on those charges.

French President Emmanuel Macron has come to Depardieu’s defence, saying he remains a “towering actor” being subjected to a “manhunt”. Meanwhile, dozens of stars put their names to an op-ed in the actor’s defense on the French newspaper’s website Le Figaro.

The belated #MeToo wave in France

Depardieu is the most high-profile character to face accusations in French cinema’s global version of the #MeToo movement, precipitated in 2017 by allegations against American producer Harvey Weinstein.

The movement began to spread in French cinema only recently, with famous directors Jacques Doillon and Benoit Jacquot also accused of sexual assault.

Depardieu’s career includes more than 200 films, making him one of the most recognizable French faces in international cinema.

He has placed leading roles in adapted French literary classics such as Cyrano de Bergerac and Jean Valjean in “Les Miserables”.

The actor also made a foray into Hollywood in the early 90s with projects like ‘Green Card’ and ‘1492’.

Sexual violence against women has come increasingly into the spotlight in France amid the trial of a man who drugged his wife and allowed dozens of co-defendants to rape her.

The case sparked horror and sparked protests and a debate about male violence in French society.

rc/wd (AFP, AP, Reuters)