Gisèle Pelicot thanks supporters in a speech outside court, after her ex-husband Dominique Pelicot was jailed for 20 years for drugging her and recruiting strangers to rape her
Pelicot, who waived her right to anonymity, says she never regretted making the trial public "so society could see what was happening"
Fifty other men have been sentenced alongside Dominique, in a mass rape trial which has shocked France
Gisèle looked at each man as he was asked to stand, both during the verdicts and sentencings, our correspondent in court reports
Warning: This page contains distressing details
Image source, ReutersAs our reporter in Avignon Laura Gozzi just mentioned, long queues have formed outside the court where the 51 accused will hear their verdicts and sentences later today.
Image source, ReutersOf the many placards being held by members of the crowd, one reads: "So that shame changes sides"
Image source, ReutersTwo more say: "Stop violence against women" and "Justice for Gisele Pelicot"
Laura Gozzi
Reporting from Avignon
The sun is only just rising over the Avignon courthouse that has been the stage for this trial since early September, and there are well over a hundred people standing in the cold waiting to be allowed in for the last chapter - the verdict.
There’s a considerable police presence, too. Perhaps they’re worried there may be disturbances when the dozens of accused turn up.
New posters have appeared near the building, spelling out: “Shame has changed sides. Has justice?”
A large banner hangs over the walls of the old city right opposite the courthouse. It reads simply: "Thank you, Gisèle."
Paul Kirby
Europe digital editor
Image source, ReutersGisèle Pelicot has attended almost every day of the trial, appearing at the court in her sunglasses just before 09:00.
Her decision to waive her anonymity is highly unusual, but she has stood firm at every moment. "I want all women who have been raped to say: Madame Pelicot did it, I can too."
But she has been clear that behind her facade of strength "lies a field of ruins" and despite the widespread acclaim for what she has done, she is a reluctant hero.
"She keeps repeating, 'I am normal,' she does not want to be considered as an icon," her lawyer Stéphane Babonneau has told the BBC's Emma Barnett.
"Women generally have a strength in them that they can't even imagine and that they have to trust themselves. That's her message."
Laura Gozzi
Reporting from Avignon
Image source, ReutersCollectively, the defendants accused of raping Gisèle Pelicot are facing more than 600 years in jail
They are young, old, burly, thin, black and white. Among them are firefighters, lorry drivers, soldiers, security guards, a journalist and a DJ.
These are the 50 men accused of raping Gisèle Pelicot at the behest of her husband, Dominique Pelicot, 72, who drugged her for a decade with prescription sleeping pills.
The fact they broadly represent a microcosm of French society means they have been dubbed Monsieur-Tout-Le-Monde (Mr Everyman).
They are due to be sentenced today. If found guilty, collectively they face more than 600 years in jail.
A few of them acted defiant, but they mostly looked down as they answered questions from the judges, looking up occasionally to catch their lawyers' eyes for reassurance.
Most of the 50 all come from towns and villages in a 50km (30 mile) radius of the Pelicots' own village of Mazan.
Some defence lawyers have seen in their ordinariness a valuable line of defence. "Ordinary people do extraordinary things," said Antoine Minier, a lawyer representing three defendants.
"I think almost everybody could end up in a situation - well, maybe not exactly like this one - but could be susceptible to committing a serious crime," he told the BBC.
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.
Emily Atkinson
Live page editor
Image source, EPADominique Pelicot, 72, and his 50 co-defendants - accused of raping his wife Gisèle Pelicot at his behest - are expecting to hear their verdicts and sentences at a court in Avignon, France, today.
Warning: This page contains distressing details, including descriptions of alleged sexual offences.
Since the start of the trial on 2 September, Pelicot has admitted drugging his ex-wife, raping her, and inviting dozens of men to abuse her for over a decade.
The majority of the accused deny charges of rape. If found guilty, they face more than 600 years in jail collectively.
Our reporter, Laura Gozzi, will be in Avignon as the verdicts are read out. Stay with us.