PARIS, May 11 -- A Paris court is to give a verdict Tuesday in the sexual assault trial of French cinema icon Gerard Depardieu in a case that has gripped the country.

The ruling will coincide with the start of the Cannes Film Festival and is likely to be among the biggest talking points at the cinema extravaganza.

Depardieu, who has acted in more than 200 films and television series, is the highest-profile figure caught up in France's response to the #MeToo movement.

He has been accused of improper behaviour by around 20 women, but this is the first case to come to court.

The trial relates to charges of sexual assault during the filming in 2021 of Les Volets Verts (The Green Shutters) by director Jean Becker.

Nearly two months after ...