COPENHAGEN (AP) — The Danish foreign ministry has changed its U.S. travel advisory for transgender people, following other European countries such as Germany and Finland who suggest they may face difficulties when trying to enter the United States.
The Nordic country wrote on its website that transgender people should contact the U.S. Embassy before traveling to the United States.
“When applying for an ESTA or visa to the United States, there are two gender designations to choose from: male or female,” the Danish travel advisory stated in an update Friday.
“If you have the gender designation X in your passport, or you have changed your gender, it is recommended that you contact the U.S. Embassy prior to travel for guidance on how to proceed," the ministry advised.
While the travel advisory does not explicitly mention the new U.S. administration, it comes only weeks after President Donald Trump signed an executive order calling for the federal government to define sex as only male or female and for that to be reflected on official documents such as passports and policies such as federal prison assignments.
The U.S. State Department has stopped issuing travel documents with the “X” gender marker preferred by many nonbinary people, who don’t identify as strictly male or female. The department also stopped allowing people to change the gender listed on their passport or get new ones that reflect their gender rather than their sex assigned at birth.
The head of the transgender group LGBT+ Denmark, Susanne Branner, told Danish radio RadioIII her group had reached out to the country's foreign ministry earlier in the week and asked for the update of the advisory.
She said there are a few thousand people in Denmark who have changed their legal gender and who might encounter unpleasant situations at airports when trying to enter the U.S. or could even be denied entry because their passports do not reflect the gender assigned at birth.
“If you are transgender or have an X in your passport, can you risk being denied entry? We would like concrete answers to this,” Branner told RadioIII.
Other European countries have also changed their official advisories for members of the transgender community in a reflection to the situation in the U.S.
The German foreign ministry put out an advisory earlier this month, telling “travelers who have the gender entry ‘X’ or whose current gender entry differs from their gender entry at birth” to contact a U.S. diplomatic mission in Germany “before entering the country and find out the applicable entry requirements.”
Finland, too, advises prospective U.S. travelers on its foreign ministry homepage that if their “current gender as recorded in their passport differs from the gender they were assigned at birth, U.S. authorities may deny entry. It is recommended that you check with U.S. authorities in advance for entry requirements.”
FILE - A rainbow flag is suspended at Copenhagen City Hall in Denmark on Aug. 11, 2021, marking the opening of Copenhagen 2021, World Pride and Eurogames. (Ida Guldbaek Arentsen/Ritzau Scanpix via AP, File)
PARIS (AP) — French actor Gérard Depardieu strode calmly into a Paris courthouse on Monday to stand trial over accusations that he sexually assaulted two women during the filming of a movie in 2021.
The case is seen as a potential watershed for the #MeToo movement in France. Depardieu, 76, is facing charges that he groped a 54-year-old set dresser and a 34-year-old assistant director during production of the film “Les Volets Verts” (“The Green Shutters”). The actor denies any wrongdoing.
“We will be able to show in an impartial, objective and incontestable manner that all of the accusations are lies,” his attorney, Jérémie Assous, told journalists massed outside the courtroom.
“The truth will be obvious and the truth is on our side,” he said.
Prosecutors allege the assaults included obscene remarks and inappropriate touching, including an incident in which Depardieu allegedly used his legs to trap one of the women before groping her in front of other crew members.
The Associated Press doesn’t name people who say they were sexually assaulted unless they consent to being identified. Neither has in this case.
The two-day trial was initially scheduled for October but was postponed because of Depardieu’s health. A verdict is expected at a later date.
Assous previously said the actor had undergone a quadruple heart bypass and has diabetes. A court-appointed medical expert determined that he’s fit to stand trial. He is expected to attend the hearing, reportedly with scheduled breaks.
Carine Durrieu Diebolt, the lawyer for one of the two plaintiffs, said on France Info radio that her client “is calmly awaiting the outcome of the case ... because the case is solid.”
Durrieu Diebolt said four additional women who say they have been sexually assaulted by Depardieu will speak at the trial.
This is the first time that Depardieu, one of France’s most prominent film actors, has been tried over sexual assault allegations. He has previously been accused publicly or in formal complaints of misconduct by more than 20 women, but no other case has proceeded to court. Some were dropped because of a lack of evidence or the statute of limitations.
In a separate case, French actor Charlotte Arnould accused Depardieu of two rapes allegedly committed in August 2018. Depardieu was charged in 2020 with rape and sexual assault in that case, and in August prosecutors requested it go to trial. A magistrate has yet to make the decision.
In an open letter published in Le Figaro in October 2023, Depardieu wrote: “Never, but never, have I abused a woman.”
Before the opening of the trial, activists gathered outside the courthouse. A dozen from the “Bruit qui court" collective performed a choreographed dance to techno music while chanting: “Sexist violence, complicit judicial system.”
Depardieu had dropped out of sight in recent months, his film career seemingly on hold. But he still has friends in the industry. Actors Vincent Perez and Fanny Ardant were among those who took seats on his side of the courtroom.
Associated Press writer Thomas Adamson contributed to this report.
Actor Gerard Depardieu arrives with his lawyer Jeremie Assous, right, to face trial for the alleged sexual assaults of two women on a film set in 2021, Monday, March 24, 2025 in Paris. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)
Actor Gerard Depardieu, center, who is facing trial for the alleged sexual assaults of two women on a film set in 2021, arrives Monday, March 24, 2025 in Paris. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
Actor Gerard Depardieu, center, who is facing trial for the alleged sexual assaults of two women on a film set in 2021, arrives with his lawyer Jeremie Assous, right, Monday, March 24, 2025 in Paris. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
Actor Gerard Depardieu, left, arrives with his lawyer Jeremie Assous to face trial for the alleged sexual assaults of two women on a film set in 2021, Monday, March 24, 2025 in Paris. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)
Actor Gerard Depardieu arrives to face trial for the alleged sexual assaults of two women on a film set in 2021, Monday, March 24, 2025 in Paris. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)
Actor Anouk Grinberg, left, enters the courtroom as actor Gerard Depardieu faces trial for the alleged sexual assaults of two women on a film set in 2021, Monday, March 24, 2025 in Paris. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)
Actor Charlotte Arnould, center, arrives at the courtroom, while Depardieu, who is facing trial for the alleged sexual assaults of two women on a film set in 2021, arrives Monday, March 24, 2025 in Paris. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
Actor Anouk Grinberg answers reporters outside the courtroom before actor Gerard Depardieu faces trial for the alleged sexual assaults of two women on a film set in 2021, Monday, March 24, 2025 in Paris. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
Women demonstrate outside the palace of justice where actor Gerard Depardieu faces trial for the alleged sexual assaults of two women on a film set in 2021, Monday, March 24, 2025 in Paris. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)
A woman holds a poster reading "Rapists, we see you" outside the palace of justice where actor Gerard Depardieu faces trial for the alleged sexual assaults of two women on a film set in 2021, Monday, March 24, 2025 in Paris. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)
Actor Gerard Depardieu, center, who is facing trial for the alleged sexual assaults of two women on a film set in 2021, arrives with his lawyer Jeremie Assous, right, Monday, March 24, 2025 in Paris. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
Actor Gerard Depardieu, center, who is facing trial for the alleged sexual assaults of two women on a film set in 2021, arrives Monday, March 24, 2025 in Paris. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
Actor Gerard Depardieu arrives to face trial for the alleged sexual assaults of two women on a film set in 2021, Monday, March 24, 2025 in Paris. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)
FILE - Actor Gerard Depardieu attends the premiere of the movie "Tour de France" in Paris, France, Monday, Nov. 14, 2016. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus, File)
FILE - Actor Gerard Depardieu addresses the media during the press conference for the film 'Saint Amour' at the 2016 Berlinale Film Festival in Berlin, Germany, on Feb. 19, 2016. (AP Photo/Axel Schmidt, File)
