French actor Depardieu to face trial for alleged rape, actress says

Paris: French actress Charlotte Arnould wrote on social media on Tuesday that film star Gerard Depardieu had been ordered to face trial for allegedly raping her.

The Paris prosecutor's office and her lawyer did not respond to a request for confirmation of Arnould's comments. Depardieu's lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Depardieu has denied wrongdoing in the case.

Investigative magistrates placed Depardieu under formal investigation on suspicion of rape and sexual assault in the case in 2022.

Actress Charlotte Arnould, 29, later revealed she was behind those accusations, saying she could not bear remaining silent any longer.

"I think I'm having trouble realising how huge this is. I'm relieved," Arnould wrote on Instagram.

A Paris court found Depardieu guilty in May in a separate case of sexually assaulting two women on a film set and handed him an 18-month suspended prison sentence.

Arnould was present in court earlier this year to follow that trial.