Gisele Pelicot makes her way to the Avignon courthouse for the trial of her ex-partner Dominique Pelicot, who stands accused of drugging her over nearly a decade and orchestrating rapes by strangers at their home in Mazan, a small town in southern France, on November 25, 2024. — AFP

French prosecutors announced on Monday that they are seeking the maximum 20-year prison sentence for the man charged with recruiting dozens of strangers to rape his heavily sedated wife, in a trial that has deeply impacted France. Since September, Dominique Pelicot has been on trial in the southern city of Avignon alongside 49 other men for organizing the rapes and sexual abuse of his former wife, Gisele Pelicot. One defendant is being tried in absentia.

The case has stirred a France still grappling with its own version of the #MeToo movement. A prosecutor emphasized in court that the trial should mark a significant shift in the dynamics between men and women. "Twenty years is substantial because it represents 20 years of a life... But it is both substantial and insufficient. Insufficient given the gravity of the repeated acts," prosecutor Laure Chabaud stated while outlining the case against Dominique Pelicot.

Dominique Pelicot has admitted to regularly administering anti-anxiety drugs to Gisele Pelicot from July 2011 to October 2020, leaving her vulnerable to abuse by strangers he recruited online. He extensively documented these crimes through photos and videos, which were later discovered by police after he was caught filming women in public without their consent.

Beyond Dominique Pelicot, who has confessed to all charges, prosecutors must also determine appropriate penalties for the other defendants, who range in age from 26 to 74 and come from various backgrounds. "This trial is challenging our society's interactions, especially in the most personal relationships between individuals," prosecutor Jean-Francois Mayet told the court. The trial is prompting French society to "understand our needs, emotions, desires, and most importantly, to consider those of others," he added.

Many defendants argued in court that they believed Dominique Pelicot's assertion that they were participating in a consensual libertine fantasy, with his then-wife supposedly agreeing to sexual contact and pretending to be asleep. Thirty-three of them also claimed they were not mentally sound when they abused or raped Gisele Pelicot, a defense not supported by any psychological reports compiled by court-appointed experts.

Sentencing requests are expected to take three full days, with prosecutors estimating an average of 15 minutes per defendant. Most, including Dominique Pelicot, are charged with aggravated rape. "The facts and the personality of each accused were considered in our sentencing demands," Mayet noted.

As the 11-week trial concluded last week, Gisele Pelicot's lawyer, Antoine Camus, called for "truth and justice" for the plaintiff, her three children, step-children, and grandchildren. The court's five judges will not deliver their verdict until late December. Prosecutors may also seek the maximum penalty for fellow defendant Jean-Pierre M., who, at 63, allegedly applied Dominique Pelicot's methods to rape his own wife multiple times, sometimes in Pelicot's presence.

Of the remaining defendants, 35 completely deny involvement in the rapes. Observers will be keen to see if prosecutors demand harsher penalties for those who raped Gisele Pelicot multiple times—some up to six times—compared to those who participated only once. The trial has transformed Gisele Pelicot, who attended hearings and insisted they be public, into a feminist icon in the fight against sexual abuse.

Mayet praised Gisele Pelicot's "courage" and "dignity" as the victim of over 200 rapes, half of which were attributed to her ex-husband. He thanked her for allowing the public hearings and for permitting the display of some of the 20,000 photos and videos taken without her knowledge by Dominique Pelicot. "You were correct, madam: the past few weeks have demonstrated the importance of revealing this, so that shame shifts sides," he concluded.

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