PARIS — A lawyer representing the victim in a horrific mass rape case in France slammed the apparent lack of interest from male lawmakers at a hearing Thursday.Speaking to a room of mostly female senators, Stéphane Babonneau — who represented Gisèle Pelicot in the proceedings against the 51 men from all walks of life who were convicted of raping and sexually assaulting her — said that French society clearly still had not woken up to the “devastation” caused by sexual violence. If it had, Babonneau said, “there would be more men here this morning.”
“Such crimes generate effects on entire generations. There are few crimes that are committed today that will have effects on children who are not yet born,” Babonneau said.
In the footage broadcast by the Senate, there were only female lawmakers visible in the sparsely filled room. The hearing was only open to senators, not the general public. France’s Senate is 64 percent male.
The Pelicot trial, which ended in December, shook French society and triggered much soul-searching about attitudes towards rape, consent and the use of drugs in sexual abuse. Pelicot’s ex-husband Dominique admitted to drugging her for years so he could recruit men online to have sex with her while she was unconscious, as he filmed the encounters.
Pelicot waived her right to anonymity and asked for her trial to be public to change societal attitudes toward rape. She courageously faced her abusers day after day in court and, eventually, became a feminist icon — even landing a spot on TIME magazine’s list of 100 most influential people of 2025.
French President Emmanuel Macron himself thanked her for speaking out during her trial.
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