French mass rape trial: Court to hear prosecutors’ sentencing requests
With evidence over in the trial of a man who drugged his wife for years so he could invite dozens of strangers to rape her, French prosecutors will from Monday, November 25, set out their sentencing requests to judges. Main defendant Dominique Pelicot has been in the dock in southern city Avignon since September along with 49 other men for organizing the rapes and sexual abuse of his now ex-wife Gisèle Pelicot.
The case has shocked a France still working through its version of the MeToo movement, with the latest demonstrations calling for increased protection against sexual violence bringing out tens of thousands on Saturday. Its impact has been relayed around the world, with 57 of the 138 media organizations covering the trial from outside France. On Thursday, the president of Chile’s parliament hailed Gisèle Pelicot’s “courage and dignity”, calling her “an ordinary citizen who has taught the whole world a lesson.”
