Depardieu reportedly to drop appeal as new Turf footage of 2011 shoot emerges

Appeal expected to be dropped

Gérard Depardieu is reportedly set to withdraw from his appeal against his conviction for sexually assaulting two women during the 2021 shoot of Les Volets verts. Franceinfo first reported the move on Thursday, 12 November 2026, and France Inter and BFMTV later relayed it from sources close to the case. The appeal trial was scheduled to open in Paris on Monday, 16 November, and the actor is not expected to attend. His lawyers declined to confirm or deny the plan. RTBF reported that the prosecutor's office had confirmed it, while AFP said it could not obtain confirmation and the prosecutor's office had not commented.

If the withdrawal is confirmed, the first-instance ruling of May 2025 would become final. That court sentenced him to 18 months' imprisonment, suspended, and added a supplementary penalty for "secondary victimisation" because of the aggressiveness of his defence. The judges found the accounts of the two complainants consistent and credible, in contrast to the actor's statements, which had shifted between his police custody and the hearing.

New footage from the Turf shoot

Mediapart and Le Média published footage from the shoot of the film Turf in November 2011, directed by Fabien Onteniente, at the Auteuil racecourse in Paris. According to Mediapart, the images show the actor touching the groin and thigh of an extra for 34 seconds, then her buttocks, while she repeatedly tries to push his hand away. Mediapart said the gestures do not appear in the script it reviewed. The extra, then 22 and a student, speaks on camera for the first time and describes what happened as a sexual assault.

A casting director, who appears in the footage, says she had to move him away from the extra and then stayed crouched between them during the following takes. According to 20 Minutes, Onteniente reportedly scolded Depardieu at the end of the day for bringing his nonsense onto the set. Several crew members told Mediapart that the scene was hard to film usably because the extra kept looking distressed.

Other proceedings

RTBF reports that the actor has been accused of sexual assault by 22 women since 2018. He has denied the accusations of an actress who alleges rape and sexual assault since being placed under formal investigation in 2020. He has appealed his referral to a criminal court in that case, and the decision is due on 26 November 2026. In April, he had already dropped his lawsuit against France Télévisions over the editing of a Complément d'Enquête episode broadcast at the end of 2023.

What happens next

The withdrawal request is to be examined at the opening of the hearing on Monday, 16 November, with the actor absent. If the court accepts it, the May 2025 conviction stands without further appeal. The decision in the rape case is due on 26 November. The new footage and testimony were published only days before the appeal was scheduled to open.