The same slogans, but also the same rage, spread like an echo in front of the courthouses or central squares of around thirty cities in France (in Marseille, Rennes, Bordeaux, Strasbourg, etc.) on Saturday afternoon, September 14. These gatherings, instigated by several feminist associations and relayed by the most followed influencers, in which thousands of people participated, expressed massive support for Gisèle Pelicot, the victim of the Mazan rape trial, which has been taking place since September 2 at the Avignon court.
Long bob, dark glasses, his stylized face drawn by the Belgian graphic artist Aline Dessine, reproduced on certain placards, has become a symbol of courage. By refusing that the hearings be held behind closed doors, Mme Pelicot, who was drugged by her husband and raped by him and 50 other men while she was unconscious, allowed French society – and beyond, through reports in the international press – to delve into the mechanism of rape, to grasp also the banality of the profiles of the defendants, and thus to give substance to the leitmotif of these gatherings: “Shame must change sides.”
In Paris, about 3,500 people, mostly women, converged on Place de la République early in the afternoon. Taking the microphone first, feminist activist Anna Toumazoff, the rally’s conductor, stressed how the trial had “shocked and reunited”calling for “the need for a surge in society”. “We are all Gisèle”the crowd will sing in chorus during the afternoon.
Read also | Article reserved for our subscribers At the Mazan rape trial, Dominique Pelicot still absent, the hearing stalls
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The « rage »the ” nausea “. The same words came up during the speeches. Anne-Cécile Mailfert, president of the Women’s Foundation, reiterated the request for a “comprehensive law against sexist and sexual violence”. It would include 95 measures, including “a systematic investigation of those involved once a complaint is filed”, taking into account the seriality of the facts, or even specific training on these subjects for judges of departmental criminal courts. According to the Women’s Foundation, 3 billion euros would be necessary to implement such a reform.
“Rapist, we see you, victim, we believe you!”
If the Avignon trial crystallizes anger, it is also the other victims of rape and sexual assault, the anonymous ones, those who were not listened to, who are put forward by the participants. “Rapist, we see you, victim, we believe you!” will be repeated like a mantra. 94% of rape complaints are dismissed; 91% of rapes are committed by someone close to the victim, as the speeches and the placards brandished remind us.
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