The Paris prosecutor has announced that French cinema star Gerard Depardieu will stand trial over allegations of sexual misconduct on a film set in 2021. Depardieu maintains that he is being unfairly targeted.

Movie star Gerard Depardieu is set to stand trial in October for alleged sexual assaults against two women in 2021, as announced by the Paris prosecutor on Monday. The decision follows a day of questioning by police of the 75-year-old actor, who was subsequently released without charge, according to his lawyer Christian Saint-Palais.

The public prosecutor stated that Depardieu would face trial for the assaults purportedly occurring in September 2021 on the set of the film "The Green Shutters." Despite the accusations, Depardieu has maintained his innocence throughout.

Depardieu has been embroiled in multiple sexual misconduct allegations in recent years and is currently under investigation for rape, maintaining his innocence since the charges were first leveled in 2020.

He has criticized his treatment in the domestic media, likening it to a "lynching," and has garnered some support for this perspective in France.

At 75, Depardieu remains one of the most prominent male figures in French cinema, known for iconic roles such as Asterix's robust companion Obelix, "Jean de Florette" in a classic French film duo, and Cyrano de Bergerac, a role that earned him a Best Actor Oscar nomination in 1991 despite being in a non-English language.

However, he has also courted controversy in recent years.

Just over a decade ago, citing grievances such as high tax rates for high earners under then-President Francois Hollande, Depardieu obtained Russian citizenship.

In 2015, his remarks regarding Russia's annexation of Crimea resulted in Ukraine's government blacklisting him.

More recently, in December, controversial comments made by Depardieu about women during a 2018 visit to North Korea surfaced, drawing criticism for their perceived vulgarity and reigniting public scrutiny.