The French film star Gérard Depardieu was convicted of sexual assault in Paris on Tuesday. But for many, he wasn’t alone on the stand: French cinema and the country’s long-term resistance to the #MeToo movement were also being judged.

They, too, were found guilty.

“This was the trial of impunity, the trial of silence and forced forgetting, the trial of letting things slide,” said Emmanuelle Dancourt, president of #MeTooMedia, an association advocating for victims of sexual violence in the world of French culture.

She added: “It was the trial of a man who was answerable to the law like all others. But of a man who was protected for decades, and who embodies a much bigger system.”

Mr. Depardieu, who is among France’s most famous actors, groped two female colleagues on the set of the 2022 film “Les Volets Verts.” He was handed an 18-month suspended sentence, ordered to pay the two women more than 39,000 euros — about $43,000 — and his name will be added to the national sex and violent offender registry.

While Mr. Depardieu’s lawyer, Jérémie Assous, said his client intended to appeal the ruling, feminists across France celebrated a rare and potent victory. Since the #MeToo movement arrived in France in 2017, there has been an outpouring of testimony of sexual abuse, but relatively few cases have gone to court. The fact that Mr. Depardieu was not only tried but also convicted was a significant milestone, they said. But many also sensed it might reveal a growing crack in the severe resistance the #MeToo movement had faced in the country, and offer an indication of societal change.

The verdict followed one in February, when a French court convicted the director Christophe Ruggia of sexually assaulting the actress Adèle Haenel when she was a minor. He is also appealing.