Macron thanks Gisèle Pelicot for courage and dignity in mass rape trial

France's president pays tribute to her strength in the trial of her husband and 50 other men.

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Describing her as a trailblazer for women, he said her "dignity and courage moved and inspired France and the world".

Her ex-husband Dominique Pelicot, 72, was given a maximum 20 years in jail for aggravated rape, after confessing to drugging her for almost a decade and recruiting dozens of men to rape her while she lay comatose in bed.

After 50 other men were given lesser sentences, Gisèle Pelicot said the trial was a difficult ordeal, but she believed in a future where women and men could "live in harmony with respect and mutual understanding".

It was her decision to waive her anonymity and throw the trial open to the public that drew global attention to the issues of rape and drug-induced sexual assault.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c159k591gd7o

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