PARIS, April 18 -- French actor Gerard Depardieu yesterday dropped a lawsuit against broadcaster France Televisions over a 2023 television report that portrayed him as making sexual comments about a young girl.

Depardieu, whose prolific film and television career includes 1990 comedy Green Card and Netflix series Marseille, is the highest-profile figure caught up in France's response to the #MeToo movement.

The 77-year-old actor's decision to withdraw the lawsuit was announced by his new attorney, Delphine Meillet, at the start of a hearing before the Paris Criminal Court.

The court case focuses on a dispute between Depardieu and a television show that in December 2023 aired a report that dented his public image and sparked an upr...