By Makini Brice

PARIS (Reuters) -Film star Gerard Depardieu, one of the leading faces of French cinema, will face trial for raping actress Charlotte Arnould in 2018, in the latest blow to his reputation after he was convicted of sexual assault earlier this year.

Arnould first accused Depardieu of rape in 2018, saying the assaults occurred in his Paris home on two separate occasions when she was in her early 20s. Depardieu, 76, has denied wrongdoing in the case.

The Paris prosecutor's office confirmed on Tuesday that an investigating judge had ruled that the case should be sent before a court after Arnould posted about the news on her Instagram account. No court date was given.

"I think I'm having trouble realising how huge this is. I'm relieved," Arnould wrote.

Lawyers for Arnould and

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