French President Emmanuel Macron praised Gisèle Pelicot for her “courage” on Friday, calling her a “trailblazer” for women.
The 72-year-old Frenchwoman has been internationally acclaimed for her decision to refuse a closed-door trial for her husband and 50 men accused of aggravated rape, attempted rape, or sexual assault. The case has highlighted the issue of drug-facilitated sexual assault and gained widespread global attention.
Dominique Pelicot, also 72, drugged his ex-wife with anxiolytics for an entire decade to facilitate raping her while she slept and introduced men he recruited online to do the same. On Thursday, Dominique Pelicot was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
“Thank you Gisèle Pelicot. For standing tall in the name of justice,” Macron wrote on social media platform X. “Your dignity and courage have moved and inspired France and the world,” he added, also thanking her “for women, who now have a trailblazer to speak and fight.”
Speaking to France Inter radio on Friday, Gisèle's lawyer Stéphane Babonneau stressed that his client "does not want other victims to think, 'This woman has extraordinary strength. I could never do that.' She doesn't want to be seen as someone extraordinary. In reality, she is a normal person who has decided to try and live her life as normally as possible."
Babonneau added that his client is "very happy to return home" and "relieved" but not afraid of a new trial in case of an appeal from one or several of the convicted men, her lawyer said. "If that happens, she has already indicated that she is prepared to face it, health permitting."
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The sentences handed down by five professional judges have been criticised by the Pelicot couple’s three children and feminist groups, who feel some were too lenient. The lawyer representing two of the convicted men announced on Thursday that they would appeal their convictions.
The 50 convicted men come from very diverse backgrounds. Aged between 27 and 74, they include unemployed individuals, retirees, tradesmen, a journalist, and a construction manager. They received sentences ranging from three years in prison, with two years suspended, to 15 years. These sentences were less than the prosecution’s recommendations, which ranged from 10 to 18 years.
"It's time we understand that there is no single profile of a rapist," said one of Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyers, Antoine Camus. He argued in late November before the court that the Mazan rape trials should lead to societal awareness.
