A year later, it's the same case, but it won't be the same audience. The appeals trial for the mass rapes committed against Gisèle Pelicot opens on Monday, October 6, before the Gard criminal court of appeal in Nîmes. It will have little in common with the global shockwave caused by the first trial before the Vaucluse criminal court in Avignon at the end of 2024.

This time, it is the trial of a single defendant accused of rape. Of the 51 defendants in Avignon, all were found guilty on December 19, 2024, of rape, attempted rape or sexual assault against Gisèle Pelicot, and all were sentenced to terms ranging from three years, partially suspended, to 20 years in prison. In total, 17 defendants appealed, but over several months, all withdrew their appeals except for one. Husamettin Dogan will appear alone, for three and a half days instead of three and a half months, before a jury of randomly selected citizens – not a panel of professional judges, like in the first trial – who will hear Dominique Pelicot, Gisèle's ex-husband who drugged her and invited men to rape her, solely as a witness.

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