After 10 weeks, the trial for gang rape which shocked France enters the final phase of indictments.

The case centers on a formerly married couple, Dominique and Gisèle Pelicot, now retired in their early sixties.

Ms Pelicot’s legal team will make their final statements on Tuesday, then the defense will follow, before a verdict from a panel of five judges expected on December 20.

Dominique Pelicot was tried with 50 other men in Avignon, in the south of the country, in September.

Every chapter of this case took place in the spotlight because Ms. Pelicot waived her anonymity, making the entire trial open to the media and public.

In France, it is now called Mazan affairAfter the village near Avignon where the Pélicots lived.

In November 2020, Dominique Pelicot admitted to drugging his then-wife for nearly a decade and recruiting dozens of men online to rape her in their home while she was unconscious.

Police tracked down his co-defendants based on thousands of videos found on Mr. Pelicot’s laptop, but were unable to identify 21 other men. Investigators said they have evidence of around 200 rapes committed between 2011 and 2020.

The majority of defendants deny the rape charges, arguing that they cannot be guilty because they did not realize that Ms. Pelicot was unconscious and therefore did not “know” that they were raping her.

This line of defense has sparked a nationwide debate over whether consent should be added to The legal definition of rape in Francecurrently defined as “any act of sexual penetration committed against another by violence, coercion, threat or surprise”.

The trial also highlighted the issue of chemical submission – drug-induced sexual assault.

Dominique and Gisèle Pelicot, both born in 1952, married in 1973 and had three children. She worked as a manager in a large French company, while he, an electrician by training, launched several businesses that ultimately failed.

The Pélicots lived in the Paris region until 2013, when they retired to the picturesque southern village of Mazan. They owned a large house with a swimming pool and often entertained their extended family during summer vacations.

By all accounts, they were a happy, close-knit couple. “We shared vacations, birthdays, Christmases… All of that, for me, was happiness,” Ms. Pelicot said.

Between 2011 and 2020, Ms. Pelicot experienced worrying symptoms that she interpreted as signs of Alzheimer’s disease or a brain tumor, and underwent extensive medical examinations. The fainting spells and memory loss were actually side effects of the medications her husband was giving her without her knowledge.

Ms. Pelicot divorced her husband shortly after his crimes came to light. She is using her married name only for the purposes of the trial.

Dominique Pelicot has been in prison since November 2020. He will be sentenced next month, alongside the 50 other defendants.

In September 2020, Dominique Pelicot was spotted filming under women’s skirts by a security guard at a supermarket in the south of France.

Police arrested him and confiscated his electronic devices. They noticed suspicious chats on his Skype account, then found thousands of videos of men having sex with an apparently unconscious woman: Mr. Pelicot’s wife, Gisèle.

Investigators worked for weeks to gather enough evidence to take Mr. Pelicot into custody and finally arrested him in November 2020. He immediately admitted to all the charges.

When Ms Pelicot was interviewed by police and shown photos and videos in which she appeared unconscious, it became clear she had no knowledge of what had happened to her. She denied ever giving consent to sex with other men and realized her husband had drugged her for nearly a decade.

Fifty men – aged 26 to 72 – are on trial alongside Mr. Pelicot.

They come from all walks of life: among them a firefighter, a carpenter, a nurse and a journalist. Many are married and have children. Most lived within 60 km (37 miles) of the Pélicots’ residence.

A handful of them admitted to raping Ms. Pelicot.

The majority, however, rejects these accusations. Their defense is that they did not believe what they were doing was rape because they did not know she was unconscious and therefore could not give consent.

Mr Pelicot has repeatedly denied this was the case, insisting that when he recruited men on the internet he made it clear that his wife would be sleeping. “They all knew, they can’t say otherwise,” he said.

It was Gisèle Pelicot who decided to waive her anonymity, which is very unusual in cases of rape. His legal team also insisted that videos of alleged rapes will be shown in court.

Ms. Pelicot said she hoped her decision would allow other survivors of sexual violence to speak out: “I want all women who have been raped to say: Ms. Pelicot did it, so did I. I don’t I don’t want them to be ashamed anymore.”

She forcefully responded to “humiliating” defense suggestions that she may have been drunk or pretended to sleep during the alleged rapes, saying she was never interested in partner swapping or threesomes .

However, Ms Pelicot has also spoken candidly about the devastation her husband’s abuse and lies have caused in her life. “People can see me and think: This woman is strong,” she said. “The facade may be solid, but behind it lies a field of ruins.”

The horror of Dominique Pelicot’s actions, the large number of men involved in this affair and Gisèle Pelicot’s decision to demand a public trial meant that the proceedings received considerable attention.

Dozens of members of the public come to the Avignon court every day to support Ms Pelicot, meeting her with applause and handing her flowers.

Murals have appeared across the country depicting her distinctive look of a short bob and round sunglasses, and protests have been held across France in her support.

Above all, many credit her with sparking a conversation about rape culture, misogyny, and chemical submission.

Several feminist groups are now pushing for the government to change its definition of rape to include consent, as is already the case in many European countries.

“Society has already accepted that the difference between sex and rape is consent,” said Greens senator Melanie Vogel, who last year proposed a consent-based rape law. “But the criminal law didn’t.”