Gerard Depardieu won’t appear in court for sex assault trial [Video]

PARIS –

French actor Gerard Depardieu, who is facing trial for the alleged sexual assaults of two women on a film set in 2021, won’t appear before a criminal court in Paris on Monday due to health reasons, his lawyer said.

Depardieu, who previously has denied any wrongdoing, is accused of using “violence, coercion, surprise or threat” in the alleged assault, which prosecutors said took place on the set of “Les Volets verts” (“The Green Shutters.”)

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Lawyer Jeremie Assous said doctors say the actor’s health doesn’t allow him to appear for the opening of the trial on Monday.

Depardieu “is deeply affected and unfortunately his doctors don’t allow him to appear at the hearing,” Assous told France Info radio.

Assous said he will ask the court for the postponement of the trial because his client “wishes to …