French actress Fanny Ardan has defended 76-year-old film icon Gerard Depardieu during his trial on sexual assault charges in Paris. She said she never knew him to have behaved in a "shocking" way with a woman.

Depardieu, who has starred in more than 200 films and TV series, has been accused of indecent behaviour by about 20 women. However, this is the first case to go to court, AFP reported.

He is the most high-profile figure to face accusations in French cinema's response to the #MeToo movement, which he told the court on March 25 would become a "reign of terror".

The trial relates to accusations of sexual assault during the filming in 2021 of director Jean Becker's Les Volets Verts (The Green Blinds).

Anouk Greenberg, a famous actress who starred in the film, has supported the two plaintiffs, a 54-year-old makeup artist on the set identified only as Amelie, and a 34-year-old assistant director. Both women allege they were sexually assaulted.

"I, Fanny Ardan, have never seen a gesture that shocked me" from Gerard Depardieu, she said on the third day of the trial. The actress described him as a "friend for life".

"I know you can say no to Gerard," the 76-year-old added, pausing on her way out of the courtroom to kiss him. | BGNES