Thousands protest in France against “rape culture”

Issued on: 14.09.2024 – 23:04Changed: 14.09.2024 – 23:02

3 minutes

Gisele Pelicot, who uses her married name, has requested that the trial of her ex-husband and 50 co-defendants be made public since September 2 to raise awareness about drug abuse.

Dominique Pelicot, her partner for some five decades, has admitted to drugging her for years in order to rape her or to watch her unconscious as she was raped by dozens of strangers he recruited online.

The case has horrified France, especially since many of the co-defendants appear to be ordinary men with ordinary jobs and several of the suspects are still at large.

“We are all Gisele,” chanted a large crowd in the capital Paris.

“Rapist, we see you, victim, we believe you.”

In the southern city of Marseille, activists hung a banner on the city's courthouse calling on the alleged perpetrators – not the victims – to be ashamed.

“Shame must change sides,” it said, echoing the words of Gisele Pelicot through one of her lawyers.

Justine Imbert, 34, came with her six-year-old daughter.

“It must have taken enormous courage, but it was absolutely necessary” for Gisele Pelicot to demand that the trial be made public, she said.

“It allows people to see the faces of their husbands and all the others and to see that they are not outsiders, but 'good fathers.'”

Martine Ragon, a 74-year-old pensioner, said she was also there to “denounce rape culture,” meaning an environment in which sexual violence is normalized.

“Media coverage of the trial will enable us to talk about it,” she said.

“I am disgusted to be a man”

In the western city of Rennes, a young woman held up a sign with the phrase “Protect your daughters” crossed out.

“Educate your son,” was the message instead.

In the central city of Clermont-Ferrand, 26-year-old farm worker Stephane Boufferet said he hoped Gisele Pelicot would get justice.

“When I read the story, I was disgusted, even disgusted to be a man,” he said.

The French film industry has been rocked by allegations of sexual harassment in recent years, including several against film legend Gérard Depardieu.

But the trial in the southern French city of Avignon drew attention to the issue of rape in everyday society.

Among the protesters in Paris was Charlotte Arnould, an actress who accused Depardieu of raping her in 2018 when she was 22 and anorexic.

The 75-year-old actor has been accused of rape in the case since 2020 and prosecutors called for him to be brought to trial last month.

Among the demonstrators in the capital were Camille Kouchner, author of a book denouncing incest, and MP Sandrine Josso, who last year accused a senator of drugging her in order to attack her.

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© 2024 AFP