France’s epic fail: The Gérard Depardieu MeToo verdict

Written by: Aarthi Ramnath, Raghav Bikhchandani & Yash Budhwar

Content advisory: The following item is about sexual assault—and contains at least one description of the crime.

France’s epic fail: The Gérard Depardieu MeToo verdict

The context: In March, French film icon Gérard Depardieu went on trial for sexually assaulting two women during the 2021 filming of ‘Les Volets Verts’ (‘The Green Shutters’). It was the first of the 20+ accusations against him to make it to the courts.

The allegations: Prosecutors say Depardieu groped a set dresser on set:

The court heard that Mr. Depardieu grabbed Amélie by the waist and pulled her toward him one day on set while he was sitting down. Then he locked her between his legs and ran his hands over her buttocks, genitals and breasts while muttering obscenities, she testified.

He also assaulted a second woman—a 34-year-old assistant director—both on set and in the street.

What happened now: The Parisian court found him guilty—but handed down an extremely disappointing 18-month suspended prison sentence. The court has also ordered him to pay a total of a measly €29,040 (around $32,350) as damages—€15,000 to one victim and €14,040 to the other.

Why this matters: This was meant to be France’s ‘Harvey Weinstein’ moment—when an untouchable film industry giant is finally punished for repeated sexual abuse. The trial came on the heels of a number of actresses coming forward with MeToo allegations—naming a number of famous directors. And the 2024 Cannes showcased a short film ‘Moi Aussi’ (Me Too)—directed by French actress Judith Godrèche—who was sexually exploited at age 14 by her director Benoît Jacquot.

It seemed like the MeToo movement had finally gained momentum in France—which sat out the global 2017 wave. Except not:

From the beginning, it was clear the trial was about more than two sexual assaults by one of France’s best-known film stars. What happened in the court, instead, was part of a long overdue reckoning about the country’s obsession with seduction, the uncritical adulation of its artists and the stalling in France of the #MeToo movement.

Enraging point to note: Depardieu still insists that he is being punished for being from a different generation—“that his flamboyant, bombastic and unapologetic personality was ill suited for the current era.”

The fallout: At least one of the victims said she was "very moved" by the verdict—which was "a victory, a major step forward.” Depardieu is now on a list of sex offenders. But he is no longer considered a pariah in the industry. After three years, he is working on a movie directed by Fanny Ardant—who defended him at the trial: “Genius—in whatever form it takes—carries within it an element of the extravagant, the untamed, the dangerous. (Depardieu) is the monster and the saint.” Our take: Sometimes, the French just need to STFU. (New York Times, login required, BBC News)

Meanwhile, in Tamil Nadu: Justice was served in the case of nine men on trial for assaulting, videotaping and blackmailing young girls and women—over the course of two years. The Pollachi case was triggered by a brave college student who lodged a complaint—alleging sexual abuse by four men in a moving car in 2019. The investigation of the devices of these men revealed clips of multiple rapes at various locations. As is usual in India, they would rape the women, record the crime—and use the clips to blackmail them—and rape them over and over again. The verdict: life imprisonment for all nine men. The court also ordered the Tamil Nadu government to pay Rs 85 lakh to eight survivors who testified at the trial. (The Hindu, paywall, The News Minute, login required)

Beware those kitchen plastic bags

The best known brand of storage bags—Ziploc—faces a class action lawsuit filed by a California woman. The allegation:

Ziploc markets its Ziploc bags and containers as “Microwave Safe” and suitable for “Freezer” use, which the suit says creates the "reasonable impression that they are fit for use in the microwave and freezer." It added, "In reality, these products are made from polyethylene and polypropylene — materials that scientific and medical evidence shows release microplastics when microwaved and frozen — making them fundamentally unfit for microwave and freezer use."

In other words, there is allegedly nothing ‘safe’ about Ziploc bags—or any other kind in your kitchen since the materials used are the same.

Is this true? Recent studies show that both microwave heating and refrigeration of plastic containers releases a high amount of microplastics into stored food. To be fair, scientists have not pinpointed the exact effects of exposure to microplastics—but they have been linked to cancer, heart attack and strokes. (USA Today)

Two killings in Ranthambore: Wtf is going on?

A tigress named Kankati has killed two people in a single month in the reserve—a seven-year-old and a forest officer. Both took place in the heart of the reserve—close to areas like Jogi Mahal and Ranthambore Fort—which are frequented by tourists and temple pilgrims—as shown in the map below:

Why this happened: Human-tiger conflict is hardly rare—and there have been numerous instances of tigers killing residents close to a reserve (see: our Big Story). But in this case, the road to tragedy was paved by misguided intentions of forest rangers.

Since 2023, they had been putting out live bait (a buffalo) for an aging tigress—Arrowhead—with a hip deformity. Arrowhead had recently had a litter—and they were worried about her ability to feed the cubs. Unfortunately, this ‘assist’ attracted the attention of the others. By the end of 2024, four tigresses, two tigers and nine grown-up cubs were hanging out in the same area: “15 tigers frequenting a space of roughly five sq km around Jogi Mahal, Ranthambore Fort and Ganesh temple—spots that attract hundreds of tourists and pilgrims daily.”

The big picture: This was a tragedy waiting to happen. This is also a story of flawed interventions to preserve the tiger population. Kankati is one of Arrowhead’s cubs—all grown up and used to hanging out on safari roads. A good related read: our Big Story on the good/bad news in the 2023 tiger census. Hindustan Times reports on the latest killing. (Indian Express)

what caught our eye

India vs Pakistan

The India-Pakistan conflict exposed migrant workers' struggles in Punjab and Jammu & Kashmir, with experts calling for policies to protect them in times of crisis.
Indian precision strikes wiped out nearly 20% of Pakistan Air Force infrastructure, including key fighter jets—”sources” told The Indian Express the hits targeted major PAF bases like Sargodha and Bholari.
Three weeks after the Pahalgam terror attack brought India and Pakistan to the brink, there’s still no headway on the probe—despite the government admitting to an intelligence failure.

business & tech

India’s retail inflation just hit a six-year low at 3.16%—and with three straight months under 4%, economists say an RBI rate cut in June is looking more and more likely.
Starting June 17, Prime Video in India will roll out ads during movies and shows—unless users cough up Rs 699 extra for an ad-free upgrade.
Meta’s now-infamous Ray-Ban smart glasses—complete with built-in AI that can see, translate, message, and call—are landing in India on May 19, starting at Rs 29,990.
Sam Altman says younger users treat ChatGPT as a smart advisor, while older generations use it like Google. But, but, but, college students may be a step ahead: a recent report claimed that the tool is enabling students to cheat their way through assignments and learnings.
The AI-first culture is taking a hit, with Klarna reversing course to hire more humans and Duolingo facing backlash for its AI shift.
You know who is cutting their workforce though? Microsoft… They are slashing 7,000 jobs—its biggest round of layoffs in over two years—as the culling across the tech industry rolls on.
Airbnb’s expanding beyond rentals with new ‘Services’—from makeup to massages and meals—now available in 260 cities across the US.
Nissan is shutting down seven factories and slashing 20,000 jobs worldwide—after a brutal year of merger talks gone cold, falling sales in the US and China, and a £3.4 billion loss.
Apple is embracing technology that allows people to control iPhones with brain signals, potentially aiding those with limited hand use.
Google’s iconic “G” just got a touch up for the first time in a decade—the logo now sports a blended gradient of its classic red, yellow, green, and blue.

sports & entertainment

England's ODI squad for their upcoming West Indies series is made up of five IPL stars, including Jos Buttler—but they might still let them skip the matches.
Day two of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ sex-trafficking trial sees Cassie Ventura detailing violent abuse during her decade-long relationship with the mogul.
As Virat Kohli bids farewell to Test cricket, veteran actor Anil Kapoor recalled Kohli visiting Anushka Sharma on the ‘Dil Dhadakne Do’ film set 11 years ago—their only meeting—in a praise-filled Instagram story.
Letterboxd is diving into the video-on-demand pool, launching a curated service for its 20 million film buffs with festival picks and hidden gems up for rent.
The British government’s bid to loosen AI data rules hits a roadblock as the House of Lords backs more protection for content creators.

health & environment

Forget the fixation over 10,000 steps—research shows short burst activities like stair climbing can pack the same heart-health punch.
A new study reveals that faster eye movements let you see objects in motion that others miss, with big implications for sports, gaming, and photography.
IMD rings in the monsoon early this year, marking the fastest onset in seven years over the South Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea.
Mongabay has a good read on the plight of the Indian ocean humpback dolphin, protected on paper but forgotten by people, as unregulated dolphin-watching tours in Goa add to their struggle for survival.

meanwhile, in the world

While Israel brushes off food shortage alarms, private chats among the country’s army officers reveal Gaza is on the brink of starvation if aid isn’t restored.
Kicking off his Gulf tour, Trump sealed a $142 billion arms deal with Saudi Arabia—hailed by the White House as the “largest defence sales agreement in history.”
Also making deals: US tech giants, expectedly. As Trump locked in $600 billion worth of Saudi deals, Nvidia and AMD, amongst others, scored big—as they will be shipping tens of thousands of AI chips to a brand-new startup bankrolled by the ME kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund.
Clearly on a charm offensive in Saudi, Trump also vowed to lift US sanctions on Syria—dangling their post-Assad reboot an apparent lifeline.
Taiwan fired up its first live test of US-made HIMARS rocket systems, boosting its defenses against a potential Chinese threat.
The International Civil Aviation Organisation Council has found Russia responsible for shooting down Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 over Ukraine, a decade after the tragedy, raising hopes for compensation for the victims' families.
A day after Harvard denied being a hub of liberalism and antisemitism, the Trump administration has pulled $450 million in federal grants from the Ivy League giant.
Germany has banned the far-right "Reich citizens" group—that calls itself the "Kingdom of Germany" and aims to topple the country's democratic order.
Despite the apparent thaw in US-China trade relations, China is cozying up to Latin America—welcoming regional leaders to Beijing and calling for a united front against Trump’s tariff blitz.
British police have arrested a 21-year-old on suspicion of arson after fires—including one at PM Keir Starmer’s property—sparked a counter-terror probe.

meanwhile, in India

Mohammed Zubair, co-founder of fact-checking site Alt News has approached Bengaluru police after right-wing accounts on X allegedly doxxed his personal details and sent him death threats.
Less than a week after a pollution watchdog urged a switch to clean-fuel vehicles, the Environment Ministry has floated a tender for 57 petrol cars—leaving experts scratching their heads.
The Centre’s blocking order on YouTube news channel ‘4PM’—with 73 lakh subscribers—has been withdrawn, the Supreme Court was told on Tuesday.

Two things to see

One: This viral video shows a man drawing a penis on the walls of Chan Chan—a World Heritage Site and one of Peru's most important archaeological sites. Point to note: This incident comes on the heels of another act of vandalism that caused “irreplaceable damage” to a 500-year-old 12-angle-stone. (BBC News)

Two: Investment group Marcellus recently put out a detailed analysis of the financial woes of the Indian middle class—you can read it in its entirety here. Two charts caught our eye. We all know about the widening wealth gap between the rich and poor in India. But this data shows the great chasm that now separates the wealthy and the middle class—wtf happened to ‘Aspirational India’?