Laura Gozzi
Reporting from Avignon

The horror of Dominique Pelicot's actions, the sheer number of men implicated in the case and Gisèle Pelicot's decision to push for an open trial has meant that the proceedings have drawn significant attention.

Dozens of members of the public attend court in Avignon each day to back Gisèle 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 demonstrations have taken place all over France in her support.

Above all, she is credited by many with sparking a conversation on rape culture, misogyny and chemical submission.

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

"Society has already accepted the fact that the difference between sex and rape is consent," said Greens senator Mélanie Vogel, who proposed a consent-based rape law last year. "Criminal law, however, has not."

• Asked why she finds it difficult to condemn her ex-husband, Gisèle said she remains a "positive person" - and said Dominique had a "complicated" childhood
• She said she won't "ever feel at peace until the end of my life... I'll learn to live with it. I'll rebuild myself. But there'll forever be 51 people who have defiled me"
• She said the defendants recruited by her ex-husband may have been "naive" to come to the house
• But she insisted: "Your conscience has to kick in when you step into the bedroom. They [the defendants] are not children"
• Asked if her ex-husband was a sexual predator, she said: "Of course, certainly", adding "I don't forgive him. His actions were unforgivable. I was betrayed and fooled"
• She said she "couldn't have imagined for a second he was capable of chemical submission... my friends, my family saw nothing. I lived with a good person"
• Gisèle Pelicot said she only became aware of her husband's upskirting case - which prompted this trial - last year
• "If I'd known that might have changed my life," she said. "I might have asked that he get help"
• Finally, she was asked about continuing to use her ex-husband's name, Pelicot: "I have grandchildren who are called that. Today, I want them to be proud of their grandmother. My name is known across the world now. They shouldn't be ashamed of carrying that name"

Read our earlier recap here, and our correspondent Laura Gozzi's snap report here

Laura Gozzi
Reporting from court in Avignon

Gisèle Pelicot has finished her evidence.

As she left the stand she walked back to her side of the courtroom, sitting down with a slight smile.

She rests her head against the wall.

Dominique sits across the room - he has barely changed expression throughout. He stares ahead.

Laura Gozzi
Reporting from court in Avignon

Gisèle has been questioned by multiple lawyers today. The last to cross-examine her asked about her decision to continue using the surname "Pelicot".

Gisèle explains that when the trial began her children were "ashamed" of the name.

She adds: "I have grandchildren who are called that.

"Today, I want them to be proud of their grandmother.

"My name is known across the world now. They shouldn't be ashamed of carrying that name.

"Today we will remember Gisèle Pelicot."

Laura Gozzi
Reporting from court in Avignon

Warning: This post contains graphic content.

The lawyer asks Gisèle about the "signs" that Dominique Pelicot could have been capable of this – the times he was caught masturbating by his family members, or when their son found porn and voyeur websites on his father's computer. The lawyer also points to an upskirting years before Dominique's arrest that prompted the trial.

Gisèle says she had not been aware of the earlier upskirting incident, and only found out about it last year.

"If I'd known that might have changed my life, I might have asked that he get help," she says. "The websites were a matter between father and son. And on the other 'incidents'... I also didn't know right away."

Laura Gozzi
Reporting from court in Avignon

Gisèle continues to be questioned on the accountability of the her ex-husband's co-defendants. As a reminder, Dominique Pelicot is on trial alongside 50 other accused.

Gisèle agrees that her ex-husband was the "conductor" of the set up. However, she adds, the moment you join an online chatroom titled "without her knowledge" you "begin a certain sequence of actions".

Asked if the case would not exist without Dominique, Gisèle responds "sure, I don't deny this".

"I'm thinking about the defendants' families too," she continues. "Mine is destroyed... and I know it's complicated for the wives, sisters, daughters.

"I know that."

Laura Gozzi
Reporting from court in Avignon

Defence lawyer Guillaume De Palma is now asking questions.

He asks Gisèle: "Do you think your husband could have been a sexual predator?"

She responds: "Of course, certainly.

"But by the way, I want to point out, that I don't forgive him. His actions were unforgivable. I was betrayed and fooled." She adds that she "couldn't have imagined for a second he was capable of chemical submission... my friends, my family saw nothing. I lived with a good person."

Defence lawyer De Palma caused controversy earlier in the trial when he said that “rape is not always rape”, and argued that “without the intention of committing rape, there is no rape".

Laura Gozzi
Reporting from court in Avignon

Speaking more about whether she believes the other defendants were manipulated by her ex-husband, Gisèle says they may have been naïve enough to come to the house, "but beyond that point you have to realise something's wrong".

Referring back to the videos the court has seen, she adds: "Your conscience has to kick in when you step into the bedroom."

"They're not children."

Laura Gozzi
Reporting from court in Avignon

Gisèle Pelicot is back on the stand after the brief recess.

A defence lawyer begins by asking her: "Do you think that a man that has manipulated his own wife - a strong intelligent woman - for many years... could've been able to manipulate and fool and lead astray many of the defendants here today" after meeting them online for just a few minutes?

Gisèle says it is true that her ex-husband "may have manipulated them", but asks: "When they walked into my bedroom, were they still being manipulated then?"

Laura Gozzi
Reporting from court in Avignon

It's been a really tense hour in the courtroom.

Pelicot only made a brief statement and most people thought she was going to step off the stand straight after that. However, she has been asked several questions by the defence lawyers, meaning this part of today's sessions is unexpectedly long.

It's the last chance they have of asking Gisèle questions they hope will convince the judges of their key line of defence: that their clients cannot be sentenced on rape charges because Dominique somehow tricked them into raping his wife.

Gisèle has been asked some probing and unpleasant questions about her "devotion" to Dominique. One particularly combative lawyer - Nadia El-Bouroumi - accused her of having been manipulated by her ex-husband to the point that she cannot now condemn him fully.

Raising her voice, she asked Gisèle why she had never cried in court and why she kept "defending" Mr Pelicot and attributing his crimes to a difficult childhood. Gisèle contested having ever said this, repeating that "everyone has the power to make choices in life".

But El-Bouroumi's questions and her sometimes aggressive tone elicited gasps from the public and the media in the room. Several people shook their heads in disbelief, and Gisèle's own lawyers raised their voices, with the president of the court having to intervene to end the shouting match.

Gisèle is now back on the stand, and her children are now back in the room - despite having stormed out earlier.

Image source, Reuters

We're now receiving images showing Gisèle Pelicot at court today.

She's been on the stand taking questions from defence lawyers this morning. The exchanges have become heated at times, with lawyers from both sides shouting at each other.

Laura Gozzi
Reporting from court in Avignon

Gisèle describes how she believes that what has happened will stay with her for the rest of her life.

"I don't think I'll ever feel at peace until the end of my life. I'll learn to live with it. I'll rebuild myself. But there'll forever be 51 people who have defiled me. And I will have to live with this for the rest of my life," she says.

With that, the court is taking a 15-minute recess.

Laura Gozzi
Reporting from court in Avignon

Gisèle is asked now whether there is a difference between those who have admitted to rape and those who haven't.

She says that they "all came to rape me" and they have "all committed a crime".

However, she does say she can look those who admitted it "in the eye".

Laura Gozzi
Reporting from court in Avignon

A defence lawyer says to Gisèle: "You seem to show more anger towards the defendants than towards Mr Pelicot … but they ended up in your bed because of him."

They ask her if she feels her ex-husband is being sincere and authentic.

Gisèle responds: "Given what he has said here, yes I feel he was sincere. And I feel rage against the defendants because not for a second did they report things to the police.

"If this had continued, I could have died. They could have had this on their conscience … They could've all reported this.

"Not one did."

Laura Gozzi
Reporting from court in Avignon

The defence lawyers return again to photos of the Pelicot's daughter that were found on Dominique's laptop.

Gisèle however refuses to respond, saying this "isn't a family trial".

As a reminder, her children stormed out of court a little earlier following similar questions. Dominique has previously said he took the photos because of "blackmail", but hasn't elaborated further.

Gisèle also refuses to answer questions about Dominique's blackmailing allegations.

Laura Gozzi
Reporting from court in Avignon

The court has heard a little about Gisèle and Dominique's relationship today.

They met when they were teenagers and Gisèle explains he would tell her about his difficult family life.

She calls his childhood "complicated" but says he was a "strong" man when they married.

Gisèle is asked whether this tenderness and affection she has had for him might be why she finds it difficult to condemn him now.

She says she remains a "positive person" and references holding on to the best of him.

• She began by saying she "knew what I was signing up for when I gave up the right to a closed [i.e. anonymous] trial … I admit that today I can feel the tiredness"
• "Society at this point needs to look at how we trivialise rape," Gisèle added
• Asked by a defence lawyer why she hadn't criticised her husband, she said he "recognised what he did and never denied [it]" - although she said she felt "betrayed" by him
• A defence lawyer then asked Pelicot why she hadn't cried - "the only time you ever cried was when we talked about how miserable Mr Pelicot's childhood was", the lawyer said
• "I know what he lived through," Gisèle Pelicot replied
• She said she had elements of a normal life: "We had breakfast, we went for walks"
• And she said her husband came with her to medical appointments, including to the gynaecologist
• But she said the years she was ill, because of the drugging, felt like "a death sentence"
• She also said she wondered if her husband was "seeking revenge for the affair I had... but it had been 30 years before. So I don't have an answer"

Laura Gozzi
Reporting from court in Avignon

A defence lawyer presses Gisèle about Dominique Pelicot "upskirting" women. She's also queried about an incident in 2010 and one in 2020 that led to his arrest.

The lawyer is raising their voice, and suggests Gisèle is still scared of her ex-husband and under his control because she can't "bring herself" to condemn him fully.

Lawyers from both sides are shouting at each other.

Gisèle just stands there silently.

Laura Gozzi
Reporting from court in Avignon

The Pelicot children have stormed out of the courtroom as Gisèle is questioned about images that were found on Dominque's laptop of their daughter Caroline.

The photos depict Caroline partially naked.

Yesterday, Dominique Pelicot told the court he took the photos because he was being blackmailed, but did not offer other details.

Gisèle says: "I don't know what to say about that, he will have to answer that."

Laura Gozzi
Reporting from court in Avignon

Gisèle is asked about an affair she had in the 1990s. Did Dominique Pelicot forgiving her heighten her admiration for him?

"No, I never felt admiration for him about this," Gisèle says.

"If I admired him it was because of the sports he used to play," she says, adding he had also had affairs.

It's put to her that what her ex-husband did to her went beyond a desire to seek pleasure, that it was also incredibly violent and suggests a desire to degrade her. The defence asks her why that may be.

"I did sometimes think he was seeking revenge for the affair I had," Gisèle says, "but it had been 30 years before. So I don't have an answer. Maybe Mr Pelicot does."