'Gisèle is waiting for explanations'
The Guardian Weekly|December 20, 2024
The Pelicot rape trial has horrified the world. But as it comes to an end, the questions it has raised about French society and rape culture have still not been answered.
Kim Willsher
'Gisèle is waiting for explanations'

IN THE FOUR YEARS after she discovered her husband had been drugging her and inviting strangers into their home to rape her, Gisèle Pelicot liked to walk to clear her head.

Striding through the countryside alone, she would throw the questions that tormented her to the wind: "Dominique, how could you have done it? Why did you do it? How did we get here?"

Asked what she was doing when she disappeared for hours, she would tell her three children: "I am talking to your father."

From his prison cell, Dominique Pelicot, who has admitted orchestrating the rapes at the couple's home in the Provençal town of Mazan, could not answer. Nor would he when facing his former wife across the crowded courtroom, except to say: "I am a rapist ... like the others in this room."

The 50 men who appeared alongside him charged with aggravated rape and sexual abuse have also failed to explain their actions.

Why, when confronted with the inert body of a drugged and unconscious woman, did these "ordinary men", as they were described in court, with ordinary names - Laurent, Nicolas, Philippe, Christian, Hassan not leave? Why did not one of them go to the police and put an end to Dominique Pelicot's decade-long abuse of his wife that could have killed her?

"The question is not why you went there, but why you stayed," Gisèle Pelicot's lawyer, Antoine Camus, told the court.

And yet they stayed. Camus cannot imagine why the men, whom he describes as a representative "kaleidoscope of French society", did so except for a lack of empathy towards their victim, who he says they treated as "less than nothing".

This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM THE GUARDIAN WEEKLYView all
The Saudi football World Cup is an act of violence and disdain
The Guardian Weekly

The Saudi football World Cup is an act of violence and disdain

Well, that's that then. In the event there were only two notes of jeopardy around Fifa's extraordinary virtual congress last week to announce the winning mono-bids, the vote without a vote, for the right to host the 2030 and 2034 football World Cups.

time-read
3 mins  |
December 20, 2024
AI has made the move into video and it's worryingly plausible
The Guardian Weekly

AI has made the move into video and it's worryingly plausible

I recently had the opportunity to see a demo of Sora, OpenAI's video generation tool, which was released in the US last Monday, and it was so impressive it made me worried for the future.

time-read
3 mins  |
December 20, 2024
With tyrant Assad ousted, Syrians deserve support and hope
The Guardian Weekly

With tyrant Assad ousted, Syrians deserve support and hope

Last week, time collapsed. Bashar al-Assad's fall recalled scenes across the region from the start of the Arab spring almost 14 years ago. Suddenly history felt vivid, its memories sharpened. In fact it no longer felt like history.

time-read
4 mins  |
December 20, 2024
TV
The Guardian Weekly

TV

The Guardian Weekly team reveals our small-screen picks of the year, from the underground vaults of post-apocalyptic Fallout to the mile-high escapism of Rivals

time-read
4 mins  |
December 20, 2024
Albums
The Guardian Weekly

Albums

Murky love stories, nostalgic pop and an in-your-face masterpiece captured our critics' ears in 2024

time-read
10+ mins  |
December 20, 2024
Film
The Guardian Weekly

Film

Visual language, sound, light and rhythm are to the fore in the best movies of the year

time-read
10 mins  |
December 20, 2024
Hidden delights Our 24 travel finds of 2024
The Guardian Weekly

Hidden delights Our 24 travel finds of 2024

Guardian travel writers share their discoveries of the year, from Læsø to Lazio

time-read
10+ mins  |
December 20, 2024
'It's really a disaster' The fight to save lives as gang war consumes capital
The Guardian Weekly

'It's really a disaster' The fight to save lives as gang war consumes capital

Dr James Gana stepped out on to the balcony of his hospital overlooking a city under siege. \"There's a sensation of 'What's next?'. Desperation is definitely present,\" the Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) medic said, as he stared down at one of scores of camps for displaced Haitians in their country's violence-plagued capital.

time-read
2 mins  |
December 20, 2024
Trailblazers The inspiring people we met around the world this year
The Guardian Weekly

Trailblazers The inspiring people we met around the world this year

From an exuberant mountaineer to a woman defiantly facing the guns of war, here are some of the brave individuals who gave us hope in a tumultuous 2024

time-read
10 mins  |
December 20, 2024
Votes of confidence
The Guardian Weekly

Votes of confidence

From India to Venezuela and Senegal to the US, more people voted this year than ever before, with over 80 elections across the world. With rising authoritarianism and citizen-led resistance revealing its vulnerabilities and resilience in the face of unprecedented challenges, has democracy reached its breaking or turning point?

time-read
8 mins  |
December 20, 2024