Probe in death of Gerard Depardieu’s accuser

Police are investigating the ­apparent suicide last week of an actor who was one of the first to go public with claims of sexual assault against disgraced film star Gerard Depardieu.

French actor Gerard Depardieu has been accused of sexual assault. Picture: AFP

Police are investigating the ­apparent suicide last week of an actor who was one of the first to go public with claims of sexual assault against disgraced film star Gerard Depardieu.

Prosecutors opened an ­inquiry to determine the circumstances of the death on December 6 of Emmanuelle Debever, 60, several days after she had been ­revived following an apparent jump from a bridge into the Seine.

Her death came a day before the broadcast of an ­explosive TV documentary that featured video of Depardieu, 74, the target of multiple claims of sexual ­assault, engaging in lewd, sexist ­behaviour.

The prosecutors made a connection with Debever when ­social media recalled that in 2019 she had made claims against the actor in a Facebook post recalling her time with him in the 1982 film Danton, on the hero of the French Revolution.

Debever had said: “I played Louison, Danton’s very young wife. The ‘sacred monster’ allowed himself to enjoy a lot during the shoot, making the most of the privacy inside a carriage. Sliding his fat paw under my skirts to supposedly ‘make me feel better’. I didn’t let him do it.”

Debever left acting after brief celebrity in the 1980s. Her allegation was mentioned in the new documentary among the stream of claims from women of sexual assault since Depardieu was first reported to police in 2018.

Depardieu, who denies all the allegations, was notified of possible charges in 2020 and the investigation continues. In April 13 women accused Depardieu of assault and harassment between 2004 and 2022.

The Times