What happened in the French rape trial? Key developments as Gisele Pelicot gives evidence

Gisele Pelicot, the French grandmother whose husband is accused of recruiting dozens of men to rape her, has taken to the stand for his trial.

Gisele Pelicot (C) flanked by her lawyers Antoine Camus (L) and Stephane Babonneau (2ndL)  leaves the court at the Avignon courthouse after attending the trial of her former partner Dominique Pelicot accused of drugging her for nearly ten years and inviting strangers to rape her at their home in Mazan, a small town in the south of France, in Avignon, on October 23, 2024. A court in the French southern town of Avignon is trying Dominique Pelicot, a 71-year-old retiree, for repeatedly raping and enlisting dozens of strangers to rape his heavily sedated wife in her own bed over a decade. Fifty other men, aged between 26 and 74, are also on trial for alleged involvement, in a case that has horrified France. The court proceedings, which runs until December, are open to the public at the request of Dominique Pelicot's ex-wife and victim. (Photo by Christophe SIMON / AFP) (Photo by CHRISTOPHE SIMON/AFP via Getty Images)
Gisele Pelicot, pictured here with her lawyers, has given evidence that she was repeatedly raped by her then-husband and dozens of other men he recruited over a nine-year period. (AFP via Getty Images)

(Warning: This article contains references to rape and sexual assault)

Gisele Pelicot has taken to the stand to give evidence over claims she was repeatedly drugged and raped by her then husband and dozens of other men he recruited online.

The 72-year-old French grandmother, who waived her right to anonymity and requested an open trial, told the court in Avignon she wants the perpetrators of sexual abuse to "have shame" – not their victims.

Her husband Dominique, who she divorced in August, has admitted using the internet to find men to assault her at their family home while she was drugged over a nine-year period. Many of the attacks were also filmed.

Speaking in court, she confronted her one-time husband of 50 years and recalled the meals he used to prepare for the couple, which she later discovered he was lacing with anti-anxiety drugs.

Although the trial started in September, proceedings are not expected to conclude until late December due to the large number of defendants.

Read a full breakdown of the key updates from our media partners below or click to skip to each section:

Gisele Pelicot tells mass rape trial that she is determined to change society

Trial shines a dark light on rape culture in France

Who are the men accused over rape and assault of Gisèle Pelicot?

Rallies held across France in support of Gisèle Pelicot

‘You are our champion’: solidarity springs up for Gisèle Pelicot around the world

The anonymous, anything-goes forum at the heart of the Pelicot rape case

Gisele Pelicot, the French grandmother who has been hailed as a hero for insisting the trial of her ex-husband and dozens of other men accused of raping her be held in public, has taken to the stand and described herself as a “woman who is totally destroyed” but that she has a “determination to change society”.

Dominique Pelicot has admitted the charges against him – of sedating and then raping his then-wife Ms Pelicot, and inviting other men over to rape her, across a nine-year period from 2011 to 2020.

Fifty other men are also on trial, with the majority denying rape and arguing that they cannot be guilty because they did not realise she was unconscious and therefore did not "know" they were raping her.

A pedestrian walks past a collage-mural reading
A pedestrian walks past a mural reading 'Gisele, women thank you' near the Avignon courthouse where the Mazan rape trial is taking place. (Getty)

They are, on the face of it, the most ordinary of men. Yet they’re all on trial charged with rape. Fathers, grandfathers, husbands, workers and retirees — 50 in all — accused of taking turns on the drugged and inert body of Gisèle Pelicot while her husband recorded the horror for his swelling private video library.

The harrowing and unprecedented trial in France is exposing how pornography, chatrooms and men’s disdain for or hazy understanding of consent is fuelling rape culture.

The horror isn’t simply that Dominique Pelicot, in his own words, arranged for men to rape his wife, it’s that he also had no difficulty finding dozens of them to take part.

A total of 51 men are on trial over their alleged attacks on Gisèle Pelicot, recruited by her then-husband Dominique Pelicot, who has admitted drugging and raping her.

The 50 men accused of rape and assault alongside Dominique Pelicot are aged between 26 and 74. They include a nurse, a journalist, a prison warden, a local councillor, a soldier, lorry drivers and farm workers. They each face up to 20 years in prison.

In total, 49 are accused of rape, one of attempted rape and one of sexual assault. Five others are also accused of possessing child abuse imagery.

Marseille, France. 14th Sep, 2024. A protester holds a placard during the rally. Over 500 people gathered in front of the Marseille courthouse in support of Gisèle Pelicote who was drugged by her husband Dominique Pelicot to be raped by around fifty men. (Credit Image: © Gerard Bottino/SOPA Images via ZUMA Press Wire) EDITORIAL USAGE ONLY! Not for Commercial USAGE!
A protester holds a placard during a rally in support of Gisele Pelicot in Marseille. (SOPA Images via ZUMA Press Wire)

Demonstrators gathered across France on Saturday to show their support for mass rape victim Gisèle Pelicot whose ongoing trial saw her ex-husband as well as some 50 defendants – aged from 26 to 74 – take the stand.

The 72-year-old has been widely praised for her bravery in facing her alleged rapists and for making the hearings public to highlight the persistent scourge of violence against women in France.

Women and men demonstrated together Saturday in Paris and other French cities in support of Gisèle Pelicot and against sexual violence highlighted by the harrowing trial of her ex-husband and dozens of other men being prosecuted for rapes while she was drugged and unconscious.

She has been hailed as a feminist hero across France, commended for her courage at rallies across the country and applauded by supporters each time she enters or leaves the courtroom in the southern city of Avignon.

But the tributes to Gisèle Pelicot – the woman at the centre of a horrifying mass rape trial that has shaken France to its core – also come from far beyond the country’s borders. Since the trial began in September, solidarity has been expressed around the world, hinting at the role she has played in galvanising a global conversation around sexual violence.

From Australia to Austria, many have closely tracked the news emerging from the courtroom in Provence, where Pelicot’s ex-husband, Dominique, is accused of drugging her for nearly a decade and recruiting men to rape her while she was unconscious.

A dozen feminist activists perform with the names of some of Gisele Pelicot's rapists and with the message she recently said: ''Let shame change sides,'' in front of the French consulate, in Barcelona, Spain, on September 30, 2024. (Photo by Marc Asensio/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
The trial has also inspired rallies and protests around the world, including at Barcelona's French consulate. (NurPhoto via Getty Images)

As a court in Avignon has heard Pelicot’s case and allegations against 50 other defendants over the last several weeks, a pattern has emerged of men who lived publicly upstanding lives while allegedly engaging in abhorrent acts online and in private.

As the men accused of mass rape have taken the stand, they have detailed how Pelicot found them and coordinated his abuse on an illicit chat forum called Coco.

What has emerged during the trial is that the scale of Pelicot’s crimes and his ability to keep them concealed for so many years would seemingly not have been possible without Coco and its administrators’ disregard for the content being shared on the platform. The site has become one of the starkest examples in memory of how platforms can result in extreme harm when left unmoderated.