Emmanuel Macron says Gerard Depardieu is the victim of a ‘manhunt’ after the actor was accused of multiple sex attacks

Emmanuel Macron has sparked anger by defending alleged rapist and serial killer Gerard Depardieu.

The president of France appeared on a TV chat show and said he hated that the actor was being subjected to a 'manhunt'.

Depardieu, the 74-year-old star of hit films such as Green Card and The Last Metro, has been charged with rape in connection with an alleged attack on a young actress.

He has been implicated in at least fourteen other cases of sexual assault and strongly denies all allegations against him. Yesterday it was announced that a Spanish journalist was the latest woman to accuse the actor of rape.

Macron spoke out in support of Depardieu on Wednesday evening during a two-hour interview on France 5's 'C à vous' programme.

He said: “Our values ​​include the presumption of innocence. I hate manhunts.'

Mr Macron added: 'If someone keeps accusing you of the worst and you have a public role, you can no longer do anything, there is distrust, it is no longer a democracy. We are no longer free citizens.'

Macron has also said Depardieu should not be stripped of his Legion d'Honneur – France's highest civilian award – because “it is not a moral instrument.”

This is despite Rima Abdul Malak, Macron's own culture minister, saying Depardieu has “shamed France” with his all-round sexist behavior and should not keep the Legion d'Honneur.

Other politicians spoke out on Thursday, with MP Sandrine Rousseau saying on Twitter/X: “Emmanuel Macron's words about Depardieu are yet another insult to the freedom of expression of victims of the sexual violence movement.”

She also told French radio: 'Someone who sexualises a ten-year-old child does not make a country proud.'

Her comments came after Depardieu was reportedly filmed making sexual comments about a 10-year-old girl and groping his interpreter's buttocks during a visit to North Korea in 2018.

Raphaëlle Rémy-Leleu, a Paris councilor for the Greens, said victims of sexual violence “will never mean as much as a man's supposed reputation” unless Depardieu is held accountable.

And Olivier Faure, first secretary of the French Socialist Party, noted how “violence against women” had become a “main issue” during Macron's term in office.

He said that if he were a Macron lieutenant, he would seriously consider resigning, along with Health Minister Aurelien Rousseau.

Rousseau dramatically resigned from Macron's government on Wednesday over controversial new immigration legislation.

Prosecutors in Paris confirmed last week that a criminal investigation had been opened into the “mysterious death” of a French actress who had accused Depardieu of sexual assault.

There are fears that the final hours of 60-year-old Emmanuelle Debever could be linked to multiple abuse allegations against Depardieu.

Ms Debever disappeared from the home she shared with an unknown partner in Paris late last month, before apparently jumping from a bridge in the French capital eight days later.

Actress Charlotte Arnould, 28, has also accused the actor of criminal conduct.

There is CCTV footage of Depardieu performing a sex act with Arnould at his Paris mansion in August 2018, but he insists it was consensual.

Ms Arnould waived her legal right to anonymity at the end of 2021, after Depardieu was accused of rape and sexual assault.

Within days of his indictment, Depardieu was back working on the Paris location of the police drama Maigret And The Dead Girl, in which he starred with Jade Labeste.

In October, he broke his silence on claims that he is a serial sexual abuser, saying: “I am neither a rapist nor a predator.”

He accused enemies of subjecting him to a media “lynching” and expressed his anger in an open letter in the newspaper Le Figaro.

The Charlotte Arnould case is currently before the French courts after an attempt by Depardieu's counsel to quash the charges was rejected.

The accusations against Depardieu follow a series of MeToo complaints against powerful men in the Paris art establishment, who allegedly raped or otherwise abused young women working as models and actresses.

Such scandals have led to demonstrations by women's groups at high-profile show business events, calling on female actors to stop working with allegedly abusive men.

In 2017, President Macron withdrew the Legion of Honor from Harvey Weinstein following a series of allegations of sexual harassment and rape, ultimately resulting in the Hollywood mogul being jailed.