The Pelicot trial Hearings expose 'profound problem' of attitudes to rape

Hearings expose 'profound problem' of attitudes to rape

- Angelique Chrisafis

Taking the stand in France's biggest ever rape trial, Patrice N, 55, an electrician from the southern town of Carpentras, said he was a "jovial" guy and a fun dad who once trained youth football teams and had a "great respect for women". He denied the charges of rape, claiming rape had never been his intention. "To my mind, it was a game," he told the court.

Patrice N is one of 51 men on trial for the alleged rape and assault of Gisèle Pelicot, a former logistics manager who has become a feminist hero for insisting the trial should be held in public.

For a nine-year period from 2011, Gisèle Pelicot was unknowingly sedated and raped by her then husband, Dominique Pelicot, who crushed sleeping tablets and anti-anxiety medication into her food and invited men to rape her at their home in the picturesque village of Mazan in Provence.

Gisèle Pelicot told the court this week that she felt "destroyed" but was driven by "the determination to change society" and expose "rape culture". But after dozens of accused men have testified that they did not think what happened was rape, her lawyers said the court hearings have exposed a "profound problem" in society's attitudes to sexual violence.

Despite video evidence in court showing Gisèle Pelicot in an unconscious state, Patrice N claimed he had not noticed that she was sedated on the night in February 2020 when he drove 20 minutes to the couple's home after being in contact with Dominique Pelicot online. The latter ushered Patrice N into the bedroom, where he stayed for about an hour. It was only at the end of the visit, when he said, "Your wife looks like she's really asleep", that Dominique Pelicot said he gave his wife "pills".