PARIS, Nov. 26 — French prosecutors yesterday asked for a maximum 20-year prison sentence for the man accused of enlisting dozens of foreigners to rape his wife while she was drugged and unconscious, saying they hoped the trial would help change ” relationships between men and women. “.

Dominique Pelicot went on trial in the southern city of Avignon in September along with 49 other men for orchestrating the rape and sexual abuse of Gisela Pelicot, now his ex-wife. A man is tried in absentia.

The case has sparked horror, protests and a debate about male violence in France. On Saturday, tens of thousands of protesters staged new demonstrations across the country against violence against women.

A prosecutor told the court yesterday that the trial should herald a fundamental change in society.

“Twenty years is a lot because it’s 20 years of life,” said prosecutor Laure Chabaud, requesting the sentence.

“But it is both too much and too little. Too little, given the gravity of the committed and repeated acts.”

Gisele Pelicot said it was “a very emotional moment”.

Dominique Pelicot admitted all the charges against him. The 71-year-old kept his wife on anti-anxiety drugs from 2011 to 2020 at their home in the village of Mazan, then strangers he recruited online raped and abused her.

He documented the crimes in photos and videos discovered by police after he was caught filming up women’s skirts in public.

“Before and After”

Prime Minister Michel Barnier called the trial a turning point for the country’s efforts to combat violence against women.

“I am convinced that the Mazan trial will mark a before and an after,” Barnier said, marking the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.

“This trial shakes our society, in our relationship with each other, in the most intimate relationships between human beings,” said Jean-Francois Mayet, the other prosecutor.

What is at stake, he added, “is not a conviction or an acquittal,” but “to fundamentally change the relationship between men and women.”

Many of the defendants claimed in court that they believed Dominique Pelicot’s claim that they were participating in a libertine fantasy in which his wife consented to sexual contact and only pretended to be asleep.

Of those, 33 also claimed they were not in their right mind when they abused or raped Gisele Pelicot, a defense not supported by any of the psychological reports prepared by the court-appointed experts.

“In 2024, we can no longer say, ‘Since he didn’t say anything, he agreed,'” Chabaud said. “The lack of consent could not be ignored by the defendants.”

Sentencing hearings were scheduled to last three days.

Most of the defendants, including Dominique Pelicot, are charged with aggravated rape.

Dominique Pelicot, who said she wanted to “subjugate a disobedient woman”, was “devastated” by the plea, her lawyer Beatrice Zavarro said.

“Shame changes sides”

Prosecutors sought a 17-year prison sentence for one defendant, Jean-Pierre M., 63, who used Dominique Pelicot’s practices against his own wife to rape her dozens of times, sometimes in Pelicot’s presence.

Prosecutors sought 10-year prison terms for 11 co-defendants; 11 years in prison for two co-defendants and 12 years in prison for four others.

Prosecutors also asked for one man to be jailed for 13 years, while four years were sought for Joseph C., 69, the only defendant not charged with rape or attempted aggravated rape .

Some defense lawyers called the sentencing requests “staggering” and “disproportionate”, arguing that the prosecution was under pressure from “public opinion”.

“I fear what will happen next,” said Louis-Alain Lemaire, the lawyer for four of the defendants.

The trial made Gisele Pelicot, who insisted that the hearings be held in public, a feminist icon in women’s fight against sexual abuse.

Prosecutor Mayet praised her “courage” and “dignity”.

She was the victim of approximately 200 rapes, half of which were attributed to her ex-husband.

Mayet thanked her for allowing the hearings to take place in public and allowing some of the approximately 20,000 photos and videos taken without her knowledge by Dominique Pelicot to be shown.

“You were right, madam: the last few weeks have shown the importance of showing this, so that shame can change its side,” he added.

Verdicts and sentencing are expected by December 20. — AFP