PARIS -- French actor Gérard Depardieu went on trial Monday in Paris on charges of sexually assaulting two women on a movie set, in a case seen as a potential watershed for the #MeToo movement in France.

French cinema icon Gérard Depardieu stands accused of sexually assaulting two women during the filming of Les Volets Verts (The Green Shutters) in Paris.

The Paris prosecutor’s office has requested an 18-month suspended prison sentence with a three-year probationary period and a €20,000 ($21,500) fine for actor Gérard Depardieu following his sexual assault trial this week related to events on a 2021 film shoot.