Gisèle Pelicot condemns rape accused and says French society must change
On her last day on the witness stand, Gisèle Pelicot encountered tough questions from the defense attorneys.
In a courtroom located in Avignon, France
Gisèle Pelicot has criticized the mass rape incident involving 51 men as a "test of cowardice" and emphasized that it's about time for France's "macho, patriarchal culture," which downplays the seriousness of rape, to transform.
Ms. Pelicot, who has been present at the mass rape trial since it began in September, arrived at the courtroom wearing a deep green jacket and a vibrant scarf. Following the departure of the last defendant in the case, Philippe L, she was interrogated by the defense attorneys.
She has chosen to give up her right to remain anonymous, allowing the entire trial to take place in Avignon publicly and in front of the media.
Her former spouse, Dominique Pelicot, has confessed to organizing online groups of men with the intention of assaulting her repeatedly at their residence in Mazan for nearly ten years.
The situation has not only stunned France but has also caught the attention of people globally. It has brought to light the problem of sexual assault linked to drugs and sparked a debate over whether the concept of consent should be included in the French legal definition of rape.
Caution: This report contains some graphic details right from the beginning.
During a tense day in the courtroom, Dominique Pelicot was questioned about whether he acknowledged having coerced the other defendants into assaulting his wife, or if he had used drugs on them. He responded emphatically, stating: "Definitely not."
He implied that they had employed that argument to protect themselves.
Gisèle Pelicot's attorney also inquired about his thoughts regarding his family, particularly his daughter Caroline.
Some partially clothed photos of Caroline were discovered on Dominique Pelicot's laptop. When questioned about a file labeled "my naked daughter," he spoke to her from a distance, saying, "I've seen her struggle... Caroline, I never hurt you."
She yelled from the other side of the court, "You're not being truthful; I'm fed up with your dishonesty. You're the only one believing your own falsehoods, and you'll end up dying with your lies."
An absolute hush fell over the room as they exchanged glances, and then Dominique Pelicot buried his face in his hands.
The rest of the family looked at him with faces full of sorrow, while Gisèle Pelicot remained unresponsive.
In her opening comments earlier on Tuesday, Ms. Pelicot mentioned that by choosing to forgo her right to a private trial, she fully understood the decision she was making. However, she also admitted, "Today, I’m feeling the fatigue."
Photo credit: Benoit PEYRUCQ/AFP
Dominique Pelicot has confessed to drugging his wife and enlisting numerous individuals he met online to assault her while she was incapacitated.
Tuesday's hearing marked the final opportunity for the lawyers representing the defendants accused of rape to persuade the judges that the woman's former husband, Dominique Pelicot, had somehow deceived them into sexually assaulting her while she was incapacitated.
Around 15 defendants were seated in the designated area for accused individuals, while Dominique Pelicot, dressed in a green sweater, occupied a separate spot, propping his chin on his hand. A few of the fifty acknowledge that they assaulted Gisèle Pelicot, but most deny the allegations.
Shortly before Ms. Pelicot began her testimony, the final defendant, Philippe L, expressed that he was "taken aback" by the circumstances when Dominique Pelicot invited him into his house and pressured him to be intimate with Gisèle Pelicot.
He also refutes the allegations of sexual assault, claiming that he ignored his better judgment and "was driven by desire rather than reason."
Gisèle Pelicot was seated with her legal team, flanked by her two sons and their wives.
When she was asked if she believed there was a distinction between those who confessed to raping her and those who didn't, Ms. Pelicot responded that “they all came to assault me... they all committed a crime.”
However, she stressed that when the defendant confessed to the crime of rape in court, "I held their gaze."
"I've witnessed people who claim there's no such thing as rape, even when facing the legal system," she stated. "I want to ask these men: at what point did Ms. Pelicot agree to what happened when you entered that room?"
"I've come across statements like 'I was deceived' and 'I had a glass of water, and someone spiked it.' But when did they fail to see what was happening?"
Ms. Pelicot was questioned about why she chose to keep her ex-husband's surname, especially since her children were going by different names.
The room fell silent as she replied softly, sharing that when she first entered the court in Avignon, her children felt embarrassed by the family name, yet her grandchildren still carry the name Pelicot.
"Today, I want them to feel a sense of pride in their grandmother," she said.
"My name has gained recognition all around the globe. People shouldn't feel embarrassed to bear that name. Today, we take a moment to honor Gisèle Pelicot."
Defense attorney Nadia El-Bouroumi had a confrontation in court with the legal team representing Gisèle Pelicot.
Tensions in the courtroom escalated as defense attorney Nadia El-Bouroumi interrogated Ms. Pelicot, implying that she had directed "strong language" at the other defendants, but had held back with her husband.
"You know, I have to admit, I sometimes wonder if we would ever witness you shed a tear," El-Bouroumi remarked at one stage.
The lawyer’s confrontational and occasionally harsh manner prompted shocked reactions from both the audience and the press in the courtroom, with many attendees expressing their disbelief by shaking their heads.
Ms. Pelicot dismissed the idea that she could have recognized any warning signs after being drugged, stating, "I would wake up in my normal pajamas, so that's not the case."
She talked about how she lost a decade of her life due to health concerns brought on by medications her ex-husband had secretly administered to her.
"I honestly believed I would either perish or find myself in a psychiatric facility," she recalled. "Now that I'm 72, I can't say how much longer I have to live."
Defense attorneys also inquired about the pictures of their daughter Caroline found on Dominique Pelicot's laptop.
The Pelicots' kids quickly left the courtroom and were gone for a while. Gisèle Pelicot later mentioned that it "isn't a family matter."
When a defense attorney suggested to Ms. Pelicot that she was still influenced by her ex-husband and unable to fully denounce him, she remained quiet in the courtroom as lawyers from both sides engaged in a heated argument.
The judge in charge needed to step in to conclude the debate.
Source of the image: CHRISTOPHE SIMON/AFP
Caroline Darian left the courtroom in a hurry, accompanied by her two brothers, when the defense attorneys started talking about semi-nude photos of her that were discovered on her father's computer.
Later that day, the court listened to a statement from Dominique Pelicot, which he had provided to the police back in November 2020. This was two months after he was apprehended by a supermarket security guard for filming under women's skirts.
This ultimately resulted in law enforcement discovering thousands of recordings made by him, showing men engaging in sexual acts with his wife while she was incapacitated. She was completely unaware of what had occurred and came to the horrifying realization that he had been drugging her from 2011 to 2020.
The trial is expected to conclude next month, with a decision anticipated in the latter part of December.
