French actor Depardieu faces being stripped of Legion of Honour medal

French actor Gérard Depardieu, 74, could lose his Legion of Honour medal, France's highest distinction.

Disciplinary proceedings have been initiated against the actor, who appeared in many films including "Cyrano de Bergerac," Culture Minister Rima Abdul Malak said on the television channel France 5 on Friday.

A council of the order will meet to decide whether Depardieu should be stripped of his honour, she explained. Depardieu was awarded the order in 1996.

On Friday, the minister of culture described the actor's comments in the television report about his trip to North Korea in 2018, which was broadcast at the beginning of December, as "disgusting."

In the film, he repeatedly makes misogynistic and questionable comments. In a scene showing him at a stud farm, he said that women like to ride because their clitoris rubs against the saddle. They are big sluts, he continued.

As the media reported on Saturday with reference to Depardieu's lawyers, the actor will make his medal available to the minister of culture.

In the press release, the lawyers wondered whether the minister was not dealing an additional blow to a "dying" presumption of innocence with her initiative.

Depardieu has already been under investigation for allegations of rape since 2020. Since mid-September, another lawsuit against him for sexual abuse is said to be ongoing. The incident is said to have taken place in 2007.

Several women have accused the award-winning actor, who has appeared in over 200 films, of sexual violence. Depardieu completely denies the allegations.