Feminist icon Gisele Pelicot awarded France’s top civic honour: Report

Pelicot has been praised globally for her courageousness during trial, which forced changes to France’s rape law.

Gisele Pelicot, who has been internationally hailed aft testifying against her hubby and dozens of different men who raped her, has been awarded France’s apical civic honour.

Pelicot, 72, was named knight of the Legion of Honour connected a database announced earlier France’s July 14 nationalist day, the AFP quality bureau reported connected Sunday.

She was among 589 radical named for the honour, which recognises merit-based nationalist service.

Pelicot refused to stay anonymous and publically testified astatine a proceedings successful 2024 against her former husband, Dominique Pelicot, who drugged her and arranged for her to beryllium raped by dozens of men implicit a decade.

His co-conspirators tried to assertion they were unaware that the acts were not consensual and blamed the husband.

Gisele Pelicot astatine the clip called it a “trial of cowardice” and asserted determination was nary excuse for abusing her erstwhile she was unconscious. Her grounds gripped the satellite and led to Dominique Pelicot and 50 co-defendants being recovered blameworthy successful the mass-rape case.

A pistillate holds a poster honouring Pelicot during a objection to people International Women’s Day successful Madrid, Spain, March 8, 2025 [File: Susana Vera/Reuters]

Lauded for her courageousness successful exposing the case, which forced a alteration successful France’s rape law, she has since been named among the world’s astir influential radical successful planetary lists.

Gisele Pelicot has not spoken further since the trial. She is focusing connected penning a book, scheduled for merchandise successful 2026, that delves into her position of the ordeal, according to her lawyer.

Writers, artists and planetary figures are besides connected the Legion of Honour list.

Singer, euphony shaper and covering decorator Pharrell Williams, writer Marc Levy, histrion Lea Drucker, vocalist Sylvie Vartan, and Holocaust subsister and pedagogue Yvette Levy are immoderate of the different recipients.

Source:

Al Jazeera and quality agencies