The French actor Gérard Depardieu appeared on Monday before a Paris court to face two charges of sexually assaulting two women working on the set of a film in which he was starring.

The trial is the first time Mr. Depardieu will have to answer in court to accusations of groping, sexual assault, harassment and rape that have piled up against him for years, and which he has denied.

“It’s a punishing job in normal times,” Holloway, a scholar of African American history, told me when I spoke to him last week. “But the standards we’re being held to are impossible. I had to ask myself, ‘What is it I want to do, how can I do it, and is this the right position?’”

The charges were filed after two women on the set of “Les Volets Verts,” a movie by the French director Jean Becker that was released in 2022, made police complaints that he had groped their genitals, buttocks and breasts. If found guilty,66jogo Mr. Depardieu would face up to five years in prison and a fine of 75,000 euros, about $81,000.

Mr. Depardieu has denied all accusations. His lawyer, Jérémie Assous, demanded the case be thrown out before it was heard, arguing that the investigation was faulty and biased with an aim to “make Depardieu fall.” He was unsuccessful.

The trial was scheduled for October but was postponed after Mr. Depardieu did not appear, citing health reasons. Mr. Assous presented medical assessments that showed Mr. Depardieu had long-term diabetes and heart problems.

For many, the case represents a breakthrough for the #MeToo movement in France, which was stalled for years, particularly in the film industry.

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