“France will never be the same again”

“Historic day at the Avignon judicial court”, écrit Blick, in Switzerland, before adding: “The word is not an exaggeration.” Thursday December 19, after three and a half months of hearings in the trial of “Rapes of Mazan”the Vaucluse criminal court delivered its verdict. The main accused, Dominique Pelicot, was sentenced for aggravated rape to twenty years of criminal imprisonment, with a two-thirds security period – the maximum sentence, in accordance with the indictments. All of his 50 co-defendants were found guilty, sentenced to sentences ranging from three years in prison, two of which were suspended, to fifteen years in prison.

In a statement to the press, Gisèle Pelicot spoke of the trial as a “very difficult test” for her and her family. She further stated that she “respected” the court verdict.

“I also think of all the other families affected by this tragedy. Finally, I think of the unrecognized victims whose stories often remain in the shadows. I want you to know that we share the same fight.”

“By opening the doors of this trial on September 2, I wanted society to be able to understand the debates that took place there. I have never regretted this decision. I now have confidence in our ability to collectively seize a future in which