The case of actor Gérard Depardieu, charged with rape and facing other accusations of sexual assault, has exposed a major split in French cinema, extending into politics and wider society. A petition to support the actor has been challenged by a wave of open letters denouncing years of reprehensible behavior, while the case has caused an apparent rift between French President Emmanuel Macron and his culture minister.

An icon of French cinema for half a century after rocketing to fame in the mid-1970s, Depardieu was charged in 2020 with rape and has been targeted by two other complaints alleging sexual assault, as well as other accusations published in media. He denies any wrongdoing.

With his career on hold, debate over whether the 75-year-old's back catalog of some 200 titles should be shown at all intensified last month when a French television documentary entitled "Fall of the Ogre" shows the actor on a 2018 trip to North Korea repeatedly making explicit sexual comments in the presence of a female interpreter and sexualizing a small girl riding a horse. It was aired last week on the France 2 public television channel.

His wax sculpture was hurriedly removed from the Musée Grevin in Paris, Canada's Quebec region stripped him of its top honor while Swiss public broadcaster RTS halted the broadcast of films where he plays a leading role.

This prompted dozens of friends and colleagues of the actor to sign a controversial petition published in the right-wing Le Figaro daily denouncing a "lynching of Depardieu" and saying he was entitled to "presumption of innocence". Those signing the letter – entitled "Don't erase Gérard Depardieu" – included former French first lady Carla Bruni, British actress Charlotte Rampling and Depardieu's former partner, actress Carole Bouquet. Another celebrity signing the text was director Bertrand Blier who made the 1974 movie Going Places, which was one of Depardieu's first hits and has long been controversial over the vulgar attitudes expressed towards women.

But in a sign of the discomfort caused by the open letter, a counter-letter signed by 8,000 people swiftly appeared, contending that the text supporting Depardieu "spat in the face" of his accusers. "It's a sinister and perfect illustration of an old world that refuses to let things change," the counter-petition said.

Another critical petition, entitled "Address to the old world", was published on Sunday on the Mediapart website with some 70 signatures from cinema personalities including Anouk Grinberg, Blier's former partner. "No one wants to erase the artist. But the talent of Gérard Depardieu does not permit the indignity of his behavior," it said.

"Defending art also means saying that being an artist should not exempt us from all responsibility," added a third petition published in the Libération daily signed by luminaries including theatre director Thomas Jolly, who is to mastermind the 2024 Olympics opening ceremony, and actor Swann Arlaud who starred in Anatomy of a Fall.

Disquiet over first petition

The controversy has also been reflected in politics, with Culture Minister Rima Abdul-Malak in December saying Depardieu's behavior "shames France" and a procedure would be started to determine whether he should be stripped of France's top award the Legion of Honour. But Macron days later contradicted his minister, complaining that Depardieu, an "immense actor" was the target of a "manhunt" and dismissing the minister's suggestion he could be stripped of the award. It is the president who decides on all matters relating to France's highest honorific distinction.

Meanwhile, scrutiny has in the last days intensified on the original petition supporting Depardieu, with some of its signatories now distancing themselves from the text. Disquiet grew after it emerged that the initiator of the text was little-known actor Yannis Ezziadi – who writes for the ultraconservative magazine Causeur, and is close to Gérard Depardieu's daughter Julie Depardieu.

"I signed it," Carole Bouquet said on Instagram. "However, I do not support the ideas and values associated with the journalist behind this platform. Giving him visibility through Gérard makes me, as you can imagine, deeply uncomfortable."