Gérard Depardieu places his Legion of Honor “at the disposal” of the Minister of Culture, who announced disciplinary proceedings against him

The skirmish between Gérard Depardieu and the Minister of Culture continues to escalate. The French actor, targeted by two complaints for rape and sexual assault, puts on his Legion of Honor “available” of the Minister of Culture, according to a press release from his lawyers. This declaration follows the announcement, by the minister, Friday December 15, of the opening of a “disciplinary procedure” in order to decide whether Gérard Depardieu’s Legion of Honor should be withdrawn from him or not.

Gérard Depardieu’s lawyers also wonder if the minister “does not (…) thus deal an additional blow to an already dying presumption of innocence”. The actor has been indicted since 2020 for rape, following a complaint from an actress, accusations which he disputes. Gérard Depardieu received the Legion of Honor from Jacques Chirac in 1996.

Gérard Depardieu “puts France to shame”

“A council of the order will meet and will initiate a disciplinary procedure to decide whether this Legion of Honor should be suspended or not, withdrawn or not (…) I understand that it can be done…”declared the Minister of Culture, who believes that the actor “puts France to shame”.

The procedure will be notified to the actor at the beginning of the week by the Grand Chancellery, the office of the Minister of Culture announced to France Télévisions on Friday evening. Gérard Depardieu has been at the heart of a controversy since the broadcast on France 2 of a “Additional investigation” showing the actor making sexual and sexist remarks during a trip to North Korea in 2018.