Gisèle Pelicot due to take the stand shortly
Angelique Chrisafis
Gisèle Pelicot is expected to take the stand at about 11am local time. Through her lawyer, she commented on the testimony of the wife of one of the accused men this morning.
A 45-year-old Vietnamese woman testified in connection to her husband, Jean Luc L, a 46-year-old mirror-maker, who is accused of raping Gisèle Pelicot on two occasions in 2018 and 2019.
Jean-Luc L’s wife of ten years, who has two children with him, told the court that because her own mother was ill at the time, she had not wanted sex with her husband and had said no to him over a long period of time. Asked how she felt when police told her of the rape charges against her husband, she told the court in a soft voice, translated by an interpreter: “I was very sad, in shock. But I think because I refused him all the time, as a man he had to look elsewhere.”
Gisele Pelicot’s lawyer, Stéphane Babonneau, told the court: “You thought that because you refused a sexual relationship, because your mother was very ill and your mind was on other things, you thought you had a role in what happened, and Gisèle Pelicot could not help reacting. For her, it’s not because you refused a sexual relationship that it led to this happening. Because there is never an obligation to have sexual relations with your husband. Do you understand that?”
Babonneau continued: “Gisèle Pelicot says you have no responsibility whatsoever in the fact that your husband decided to do what he did.”
Key events
Gisèle Pelicot he 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 Avignon.
But tributes to her have also come from beyond the country’s borders, with solidarity from Austria to Australia hinting at the role she has played in galvanising a global conversation around sexual violence.
The Guardian’s European community affairs correspondent, Ashifa Kassam, takes a look at the expressions of solidarity with Gisèle Pelicot that have sprung up around the world:
Gisèle Pelicot due to take the stand shortly
Angelique Chrisafis
Gisèle Pelicot is expected to take the stand at about 11am local time. Through her lawyer, she commented on the testimony of the wife of one of the accused men this morning.
A 45-year-old Vietnamese woman testified in connection to her husband, Jean Luc L, a 46-year-old mirror-maker, who is accused of raping Gisèle Pelicot on two occasions in 2018 and 2019.
Jean-Luc L’s wife of ten years, who has two children with him, told the court that because her own mother was ill at the time, she had not wanted sex with her husband and had said no to him over a long period of time. Asked how she felt when police told her of the rape charges against her husband, she told the court in a soft voice, translated by an interpreter: “I was very sad, in shock. But I think because I refused him all the time, as a man he had to look elsewhere.”
Gisele Pelicot’s lawyer, Stéphane Babonneau, told the court: “You thought that because you refused a sexual relationship, because your mother was very ill and your mind was on other things, you thought you had a role in what happened, and Gisèle Pelicot could not help reacting. For her, it’s not because you refused a sexual relationship that it led to this happening. Because there is never an obligation to have sexual relations with your husband. Do you understand that?”
Babonneau continued: “Gisèle Pelicot says you have no responsibility whatsoever in the fact that your husband decided to do what he did.”
Angelique Chrisafis
More than a hundred members of the public had queued from before 7am outside the Avignon criminal court to listen to Gisèle Pelicot from an adjacent room where proceedings are transmitted.
“What happened was so horrible that it’s important for a maximum of people to be here to show support,” said one 73-year-old artist from Avignon.
On fortifications opposite the court, a banner read “A rape is a rape.” Across Avignon, many streets had been papered with collage in support of Gisèle Pelicot, with messages such as: “Gisèle – womeon thank you.”
Gisèle Pelicot arrived at the courthouse shortly before 9am local time and was applauded by onlookers as she has been thoughout the trial, which – after requesting it be open to the public – she has attended almost daily since it began on 2 September.
Franco Info radio’s police and crime correspondent filmed her arrival.
Opening summary
Hello. Today, Gisèle Pelicot – the woman at the centre of the mass rape trial that has shaken France – is due to address the courtroom.
Her former husband, Dominique Pelicot, 71, has admitted drugging his then-wife with sedatives and anti-anxiety medication to render her unconscious so that he and dozens of strangers he recruited in online chatrooms could allegedly rape her between 2011 and 2020 in the village of Mazan in Provence.
The 50 other men on trial, aged between 26 and 74, with professions ranging from fire officer to journalist, are alleged to have been recruited by Pelicot, who said they knew they were being invited to commit rape.
In almost two months of testimony, the court has heard from dozens of accused men. The majority denied rape.
Some of the accused men have admitted Pelicot told them he was drugging his then-wife, but others have said they believed they were participating in a couple’s organised game.
The court heard briefly from Gisèle Pelicot early on the trial but now, at the midway point, judges are giving her the chance to comment on, and respond to, what the court has heard so far.
The Guardian’s Paris correspondent, Angelique Chrisafis, is at the courtroom and we will be bringing you the latest updates from Avignon.
