Gérard Depardieu facing trial in Rome for allegedly punching paparazzo
The case is due to begin at a court in Rome on 17 June.
Depardieu, 76, is charged with causing personal injury to the Italian photographer Rino Barillari. He is accused of punching 'the king of paparazzi' as he is known in Italy outside Harry's Bar on Via Veneto in May last year.
Barillari, 80, went to the bar where Depardieu was eating with a friend, Magda Vavrusova. Barillari claims that Depardieu insulted him and Italians in general, threw an ice cube at him, and punched him three times. This caused Barillari to fall to the ground.
'I can forgive his punches, but not the insult against Italians,' Barillari told the Italian news agency Adnkronos on Tuesday.
Depardieu has denied the claims, telling La Repubblica that Barillari had pushed him.
Delphine Meillet, a lawyer for Vavrusova, said her client had been 'violently pushed' by Barillari and that Depardieu 'fell and slid' on to the paparazzo.
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