French movie legend Gerard Depardieu, 75, is placed in custody in Paris over claims he sexually assaulted two female production workers on film sets

French film star Gérard Depardieu was today taken into custody at a Paris police station after being accused of sexually assaulting two female workers on film sets.

The 75-year-old, who is already under investigation for several similar crimes including rape, is alleged to have abused production staff on the sets of two films.

One was Les Volets Verts – The Green Shutters – which was released in 2022, and the other was Le Magician et les Siamois – The Magician and the Siamese – which was released in 2015.

An investigative source said on Monday: ‘Mr Depardieu was today summoned to appear at a police station in Paris and is currently in custody.

“He is being questioned about two alleged assaults that occurred in 2014 and 2021.”

Depardieu – who made his name in hit films such as Green Card and The Last Metro – strongly denies all allegations against him.

Depardieu (left) pictured in 2006. In October last year, the movie star broke his silence on claims he was a serial sexual abuser, saying: ‘I am neither a rapist nor a predator’

The first complainant said she was attacked in September 2021, when Depardieu touched her intimately, wrapped his legs around her and used foul language towards her.

The woman, a 53-year-old mother named only as Amelia, described a “wolf trap” set with “phenomenal force.”

A witness was able to pull him away from the woman, it is claimed.

Depardieu later said: “I apologize because it is necessary to apologize,” but continued to call the woman “a slut,” a source told the BFM news channel.

Les Volets Verts is based on a story by George Simenon about a “holy monster” theater star who risks a heart attack while drinking too much and pursuing possible sexual conquests.

The second complainant says she was attacked in March 2014 during the filming of the short film Le Magician et les Siamois in Doué-la-Fontaine, near Nantes, in western France.

The crew also met at Depardieu’s home in Paris, where the 24-year-old production assistant was allegedly abused, while the actor again made lewd comments.

Amelie’s lawyer, Carine Durrieu-Diebolt, said evidence pointed to “sexual assault, harassment and abuse.”

Ms Durrieu-Diebolt also represents Charlotte Arnould, 28, who claims she was raped and sexually abused by Depardieu.

There is CCTV footage of Depardieu performing a sex act with Ms Arnould at his Paris country home 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 at the River Seine location of the police drama Maigret And The Dead Girl – also by Georges Simenon – 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 to the French press.

Last year, a criminal investigation was opened into the suspected suicide of a French actress who had accused Depardieu of sexual assault.

It was feared that the last hours of 60-year-old Emmanuelle Debever may have been linked to the many abuse allegations women had made against Depardieu.

She died on December 7 – the very day a new documentary entitled Gérard Depardieu: The Fall of the Ogre was broadcast across France.

It contained disturbing details of an alleged attack by Depardieu on Ms Debever when she was a teenager.

In December, another French actress filed a formal sexual abuse complaint against Depardieu, saying he treated her like “a piece of meat.”

Paris prosecutors confirmed that Hélène Darras, 43, had filed a complaint against Depardieu in September.

The pair appeared together in the 2007 film Disco, when Darras was 26, and were allegedly attacked.

Ms Darras waived her legal right to anonymity and said in the same documentary series about the Further Investigation (Complément d’enquete): ‘He [Depardieu] is uncontrollable.

‘He looks at me like I’m a piece of meat. I have a super tight dress, he pulls me closer to him by the waist, and then he runs his hand over my hips, over my buttocks.’

And in December 2023, Spanish journalist and writer Ruth Baza filed a complaint in Spain against the actor for rape, for actions dating back to 1995 in Paris.

The same month, French President Emmanuel Macron sparked anger by defending Mr Depardieu.

Macron appeared on a TV chat show and said he despised the actor being subjected to a “manhunt.”