Devastated grandmother Gisele Pelicot finally reached her breaking point and walked out of the Avignon courthouse in the middle of proceedings on Wednesday.
Gisele, 72, has been forced to relive a decade of abuse at the hands of her ex-husband Dominique Pelicot, and 49 other alleged rapists, at the mass abuse trial that has taken place in the French city since early September.
Dominique has already admitted to drugging his ex-wife, allowing scores of men to rape her as she slept and filming the abuse for his own enjoyment.
Since the start of the proceedings, Gisele has been seen as a symbol of strength who hasn’t wavered once as she is made to sit through the testimonies of those accused of raping her.
But the testimony of one man, Vincent C., appeared to be too much for the septuagenarian, who had to leave with the assistance of a psychologist.
Vincent C., a carpenter described by Le Monde as an ‘alcoholic, pot smoker, occasional cocaine user and already convicted of domestic violence’ denied the charge of aggravated rape, but acknowledged he had sex with her.
Gisele Pelicot (pictured) has been forced to relive a decade of abuse at the hands of her ex-husband Dominique Pelicot, and 49 other alleged rapists
Dominique (pictured) has already admitted to rendering his wife Gisele unconscious then inviting dozens of men to rape her
Dominique Pelicot arriving at court on the morning of October 3
He told the court how he visited the notorious coco.fr forum Dominque Pelicot used to organise the mass rapes: ‘It was very quick. I logged on and half an hour later an appointment was made.’
Gisele left immediately after he complained about how little ‘choice’ he had for opportunities to have sex with people using the forum: ‘It’s not a supermarket either, eh, Coco!’
Despite this, he visited the Mazan home at least twice, according to Dominique’s meticulously-kept files – once on October 27 2019, and again on January 11 2020.
When asked why he didn’t question what Dominique was organising, Vincent C. said: ‘I was looking for a f*** buddy. I don’t think at times like that.’
He added that he believed that Dominique’s invitation to rape his wife was the same as being invited by her as well.
A woman holds a placard reading: ‘Victim we believe you rapist we see you’, during a silent march to support Gisele Pelicot
People take part in a march in and around Mazan, southeastern France, to support Gisele Pelicot and to protest against violence towards women, on October 5, 2023
‘When the husband tells me, “She has gone to bed, we are going to wake her up,” that removes the question of consent from my mind’, he said.
When asked whether he knew that consent by proxy did not exist, he simply said: ‘At that moment, I thought I satisfied the couple more than I did.’
The mass trial, expected to last until the end of the year, continues.
Dominique has already admitted to rendering his wife Gisele unconscious then inviting dozens of men to rape her in a campaign of abuse carried out over a decade.
She has bravely waived her right to anonymity to unmask the alleged perpetrators in a case that has shocked the world.
People take part in a march in support of rape victim, Gisele Pelicot, on October 05, 2024 in Mazan, France
A banner reading ‘support to Gisele’ displayed on the walls of Avignon on October 10, 2024
Over the past four weeks, French people have come out to support her in their droves, with many organising protests up and down the country.
One was held in Mazan, Gisele’s home town, where hundred marched through the town in support of her.
The trial in Avignon has heard man after man claim that Pelicot had ‘tricked’ them into taking part in his twisted fantasies of the rape and humiliation of his wife – many of which were filmed.
Pelicot delighted in watching strangers abuse his wife and made home movies and took pictures.
The vile attacks were only uncovered when he was caught upskirting women at a local supermarket, with a subsequent police search of his home revealing thousands of photos of his wife in a computer file marked ‘Abuse’.
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