Devastated grandmother Gisele Pelicot finally reached her breaking point and walked out of the Avignon courtroom mid-trial for the first time yesterday.
Gisele, 72, was forced to relive a decade of abuse by her ex-husband Dominique Pelicot and several other alleged rapists during the trial that began in early September.
Dominique has previously admitted to drugging his ex-wife, allowing several men to rape her while she slept and filming the abuse for his own pleasure.
Since the beginning of the process, Gisele has been seen as a symbol of strength who did not waver once when forced to listen to the testimonies of those accused of raping her.
But the testimony of one man, Vincent C., seemed too much for the septuagenarian, who had to leave with the help of a psychologist.
Vincent C., a carpenter described by Le Monde as “an alcoholic, marijuana smoker, occasional cocaine user and already convicted of domestic violence” denied the charge of aggravated rape but acknowledged that he had sex with her.
Gisele Pelicot (photo) was forced to relive a decade of abuse committed by her ex-husband Dominique Pelicot and 49 other alleged rapists
Dominique (photo) has already admitted to leaving his wife Gisele unconscious and 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 famous coco.fr forum that Dominque Pelicot used to organize the mass rapes: “It was very quick. I went in and half an hour later an appointment was scheduled.
Gisele left shortly after he complained about the few 'options' he had of opportunities to have sex with people who used the forum: 'It's not a supermarket either, right, Coco!'
Despite this, he visited the Mazan home at least twice, according to Dominique's meticulously guarded files – once on October 27, 2019, and again on January 11, 2020.
When asked why he didn't question what Dominique was organizing, Vincent C. said: 'I was looking for a friend. I don't think about moments like that.
He added that he believed Dominique's invitation to rape his wife was the same as being invited by her as well.
“When the husband says to me, “She’s gone to bed, let’s wake her up,” it takes the issue of consent out of my mind,” he said.
When asked if he knew there was no such thing as proxy consent, he simply said: 'At that time I thought I satisfied the couple more than I did.'
The mass trial, expected to last until the end of the year, continues.
It comes just one day after a witness claimed the Avignon Monster asked him to do some gardening work at his home in exchange for allowing him to rape his wife.
The man, identified only as Jerome B, was in contact with Pelicot in March 2020 and told the packed courtroom in the south of France that he had been offered sexual relations with the retired electrician's partner in exchange for his services.
Jerome B was identified in the depraved documents, but his file was left empty because he never went to the couple's home in the village of Mazan in Provence.
Speaking from the witness stand yesterday, he said he “refused to go” after Pelicot told him his wife would be drugged because he considered it rape.
A woman holds a sign that says, 'Victim, we believe you are a rapist, we see you,' during a silent march in support of Gisele Pelicot
The truck driver, who ultimately had no charges against him in the case, is now giving evidence in a trial that has seen 50 men accused of raping Ms Pelicot.
“He asked me to do some gardening work and in return he offered me his wife,” he told the court.
'I suggested this to him one Saturday morning, he said no because he gave her a pill to make her fall asleep.
'He added that he drugged his wife and offered her to men frequently. I told him it was rape and that I didn't agree.'
A second man, called Cyril F, who reportedly had an “empty file” in the case, also gave evidence yesterday.
He told the court he had a brief conversation with Pelicot on coco.fr, 'until he told me that his wife would be taking pills and that she would probably be asleep when I arrived'.
“I thought it was a young man saying nonsense, I didn’t think someone could drug his wife and I ended the conversation,” said the 48-year-old civil servant.
He added that he did not remember whether Pelicot had told him that he was administering the sleeping pills in secret or whether Gisele was taking them herself.
Earlier this month, Ms Pelicot briefly burst into tears upon hearing her husband's excuses for inviting their neighbor Simone Mekenese to their home “to show her the goods” before he raped her in November 2018.
The former Mekenese soldier, 43, who lived just 200 meters from the Pelicot chalet, insisted today that he believed he was taking part in a sexual game in which his 71-year-old grandmother was willingly taking part.
He told the court: 'This was the first time I had participated in 'free sex'. Things were going bad with my ex-wife. I was looking for love, for a sexual encounter.
'I thought I was participating in a sexual game in which Madame Pelicot pretended to be asleep.'
People take part in a march in support of rape victim Gisele Pelicot on October 5, 2024 in Mazan, France
But upon questioning, he admitted that things were “strange” and that Pelicot had told him to leave the room when his wife appeared to be waking up.
Judge Roger Arata asked him: 'Did you take the precaution that Madame Pelicot consented to what was going to happen?'
He replied: 'No, because Pelicot consented to everything.'
Asked if he believed a man could give consent to his wife, he replied: 'No, on second thought, no.'
Mekenese admitted to previously stating that “a man can do whatever he wants with his wife.”
Dominique has already admitted leaving his wife Gisele unconscious and then inviting dozens of men to rape her in a decade-long campaign of abuse.
She courageously renounced her right to anonymity to unmask the alleged perpetrators of a case that shocked the world.
Over the past four weeks, the French people have come out in droves to support her, with many organizing protests across the country.
One of them was held in Mazan, Gisele's hometown, where hundreds of people marched through the city in support of her.
The trial in Avignon heard man after man claim that Pelicot had “tricked” them into participating in his twisted fantasies of raping and humiliating his wife – many of which were filmed.
Pelicot loved watching strangers abuse his wife, he made home movies and took photos.
The stash of 20,000 images, recording the horrific scenes, was only discovered when he was finally captured in September 2020, when he was discovered having sex with women in a local supermarket, with a subsequent police search of his home revealing thousands of photos of his wife . in a computer file marked 'Abuse'.
Last month, Pelicot stood trial and admitted his guilt – and accused all of his co-defendants of having been willing conspirators.
He told the court: 'I am a rapist – like everyone else in this room.
