Laura Gozzi
Reporting from court in Avignon

A defence lawyer and lawyers for Gisèle are shouting at each other.

A defence lawyer asks Gisèle why she did not attend court when her ex-husband was absent - a detail her lawyers are contesting.

"It's not true," they shout.

Gisèle says: "I was here every time, even when he was hospitalised. The only sessions I've missed were when I had appointments with my psychiatrist."

She is then asked why she brought warm clothes to Dominique Pelicot when he was in jail.

"I have no problem answering this," she says, adding she and her son brought him clothes after he was arrested.

Laura Gozzi
Reporting from court in Avignon

Defence lawyer Nadia El Bouroumi puts to Ms Pelicot that she has used "harsh words" against the other defendants, but not against her husband.

Pelicot refers to her statement in which, she said she felt "betrayed". She adds that Dominique Pelicot "recognised what he did and never denied" it.

When asked about thanking the defendants who admitted to rape, Pelicot agrees: "Yes, when they admitted to rape I looked them in the eye."

Laura Gozzi
Reporting from court in Avignon

Gisèle Pelicot has started giving evidence.

She begins by saying: "I knew what I was signing up for when I gave up the right to a closed trial … I admit that today I can feel the tiredness."

Pelicot adds that for her this is a "trial of cowardliness".

"Society at this point needs to look at how we trivialise rape" she continues - adding that she doesn't have much more to say in her opening remarks.

Gisèle Pelicot has just taken the stand and will be giving evidence shortly.

She is dressed in a dark green jacket and a colourful scarf.

Laura Gozzi
Reporting from court in Avignon

Philippe - who is not admitting to rape - says he clocked the situation was "dodgy" and decided to get dressed and leave when Gisèle Pelicot began to move and her husband looked "nervous".

One of Gisèle Pelicot's lawyers brings up a statement Philippe made when he was first summoned by police in 2021 and shown the video of his alleged rape of Gisèle Pelicot, in which she can clearly be heard snoring.

At the time, Philippe told police: "I can tell you that at that moment very bad things happened in my brain… my brain reacted too late, and I didn't react the way a man should react."

He also said: "I put my conscience aside… I was thinking with my sexual organ instead of with my brain."

Do you think that's forgivable, the lawyer asks.

Philippe's response is confused and unclear. "I am expressing my regrets to Ms Pelicot… I only realised once I was in jail that I should've done something."

Laura Gozzi
Reporting from court in Avignon

Warning: This post contains graphic details

The last of the 50 defendants to be heard is a 62-year-old man called Philippe L.

He says Dominique Pelicot got in touch after he posted on the now-shuttered Coco website in 2018 saying he was "looking for a kinky woman".

Dominique Pelicot said he and his wife were interested in meeting up, so Philippe went over to the couple's residence.

Once there, he was reportedly met by Dominique Pelicot who told him his wife would be asleep as she had taken sleeping pills as part of a sex game and encouraged him to touch her sexually.

Philippe says he was "surprised" by the situation and that he was "hesitant", but that Dominique Pelicot insisted that he penetrate her.

As has been the case throughout the trial the president of the court, Roger Arata, reads a description of the video of the alleged rape.

It's a very detailed and very graphic description of what was done to Gisèle Pelicot while she was unconscious. There are no sounds in the room beyond the tapping on keyboards.

Gisèle Pelicot and her family rest their heads against the wall as they listen. Her youngest son Florian closes his eyes.

Laura Gozzi
Reporting from court in Avignon

The courtroom in Avignon is full.

Dozens of journalists - both from French and foreign media - are in attendance.

To our left is the box where about 15 defendants are sitting. Most stare ahead blankly at the seven presiding judges, although one man is holding his head in his hands.

In a separate box sits Dominique Pelicot, wearing a green jumper and resting his chin on his hand.

On the other side of the room, facing Dominique, is his ex-wife, Gisèle.

She sits with her arms crossed behind her legal team alongside her two sons and daughters-in-law. The family are all whispering among each other as the last defendant shares his account.

This morning, the last of the 50 defendants will take the stand.

Then, Gisèle Pelicot - as the victim and civil party in this case - will be given the chance to respond to everything that has been said over the last 10 weeks. It will be the fourth time she addresses the court.

Her former husband Dominique will then speak, and the lawyers from both parties will be able to ask him questions.

Then, both legal teams will be able to present key documents or evidence. The lawyers for the defence will be asked if there is any reason any of their clients should be exempt from criminal responsibility.

That's likely to be it for today.

Tomorrow, Gisèle Pelicot's legal team will put forward their closing arguments, followed by the public prosecutor and then, next week, by the defence lawyers.

Laura Gozzi
Reporting from Avignon

In France, the trial has become known as the Affaire Mazan, after the village near Avignon where the Pelicots lived.

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

Police tracked down his co-accused from thousands of videos they found on his laptop, although they were unable to identify an additional 21 men. Investigators said they have evidence of around 200 rapes carried out between 2011 and 2020.

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

That line of defence has sparked a nationwide discussion on whether consent should be added to France's legal definition of rape, currently defined as "any act of sexual penetration committed against another person by violence, constraint, threat or surprise".

The trial has also shone a light on the issue of chemical submission – drug-induced sexual assault.

Laura Gozzi
Reporting from Avignon

Image source, EPA

After 10 weeks, the mass rape trial that has shocked France is moving on to the final phase of closing statements.

The case focuses on a formerly married couple, Dominique and Gisèle Pelicot, pensioners who are now in their early 70s.

Gisèle Pelicot will give her final statement this morning, followed by her ex-husband, ahead of a verdict from a panel of five judges expected on 20 December.

Dominique Pelicot went on trial with 50 other men in the southern city of Avignon in September.

Every chapter of this case has played out in the full glare of publicity because Gisèle Pelicot has waived her anonymity, making the whole trial open to the media and the public.

We'll be bringing you updates from court as the closing statements are read out, so stay with us.