Investigation into the death of an actress who accused Gérard Depardieu of sexual violence

Europe 1 with AFP 11:19 a.m., December 14, 2023

An investigation into the cause of death has been opened after the recent death of an actress who accused Gérard Depardieu of sexual violence, including in a 2019 Facebook post, the Paris prosecutor's office said.

On November 29, a man reported that his partner, actress Emmanuelle Debever, 60, "had left the home leaving a disturbing note," according to the prosecutor's office. A disturbing disappearance procedure was then entrusted to the Brigade for the Repression of Crime Against the Person (BRDP). Then "a connection was made with the discovery, by the staff of the 7th arrondissement police station, of a woman who had jumped from a bridge into the Seine," the prosecutor's office added. She was "revived by firefighters" and "taken to hospital", according to the same source. She died on Dec. 7, according to multiple media reports.

>> READ ALSO - Christophe Carrière on Gérard Depardieu: the journalist believes that we have "created a monster"

"It was then mentioned in the media that this actress had complained about inappropriate behavior by Gérard Depardieu, in particular through a post on Facebook in 2019," the prosecutor's office added. "In view of this new element, an investigation into the causes of death has been opened" and entrusted to the 3rd judicial police district, which must "investigate the circumstances that could have led to this death".

On the same day, December 7, an issue of the investigative magazine "Complement" was broadcast dedicated to the actor, who is the target of multiple accusations.

Depardieu indicted for rape and sexual assault

In her testimony on Facebook in 2019, Emmanuelle Debever evoked the shooting of the film Danton de Wajda, produced in 1982. "The sacred monster had allowed himself a lot of things during this shoot... Enjoying the privacy inside a carriage. Slipping her big paw under my petticoats to supposedly feel better. Me, not letting myself be done," she wrote.

Several Internet users, who relayed her post, mentioned the dismissal, in 2019, of a complaint for rape and sexual assault filed by Emmanuelle Debever against the French film giant. The prosecutor's office was unable to confirm the case as of Wednesday evening.

In addition, Gérard Depardieu has been under investigation since December 2020 for rape and sexual assault after another complaint, with actress Charlotte Arnould denouncing two rapes at the end of August 2018 at the actor's Paris home. Since then, a dozen other women have accused him in the press, including actress Hélène Darras. His complaint, filed on September 10 for sexual assault, relates to facts that are a priori time-barred and is currently being analyzed.