Gisele Pelicot enters the courtroom to applause from the public gallery.
But the warm welcome sometimes transforms into jeers when defence lawyers for the dozens of suspects in the mass rape trial arrive.
The French woman’s former husband, who has admitted to the allegations against him, is accused of enlisting men to rape his drugged wife over nearly a decade, a case that has shocked the country and turned Gisele Pelicot, 71, into an icon.
Dominique Pelicot, 71, is not alone in the dock – 49 other men are accused of raping or attempting to rape his wife, and another has admitted to sedating his own spouse so that he and Pelicot could sexually assault her.
Lawyers for some accused say efforts to defend their clients are complicated by colleagues seemingly going too far in attacking Pelicot.
Some defence lawyers have insinuated Pelicot was a willing participant in a libertine couple’s sex game, a suggestion she called humiliating and vehemently rejected. “I never, even for a single second, gave my consent to Mr Pelicot or those other men”, she said.
Despite the palpable “animosity” towards the accused and their lawyers, defence attorney Olivier Lantelme said a proper defence is an essential component of the justice system. “It’s because someone was defended ... that we can be sure that when a man is found guilty, we’re not making a mistake.”
Some lawyers are finding it difficult to walk the tightrope between defending their client and being accused of personally attacking Pelicot.
“Since setting foot in this courtroom, I have felt humiliated,” said Gisele Pelicot, adding that lawyers gave the impression she was “the guilty party and those 50 men victims”.
One defence attorney, Guillaume De Palma, came under fire after he said, “there’s rape and there’s rape,” in a possible attempt to back up some of the men’s claims that they assumed they were participating in a sex game and did not set out to abuse her.
In her testimony last week, Pelicot reacted to De Palma’s remarks. “No, rape is rape.”
Another defence lawyer responded to De Palma, “there is no nuance in rape”. De Palma apologised to Pelicot.
Another lawyer representing two of the 50 co-defendants sparked public outrage when she shared on social media a video of herself in her car dancing to 1980s English pop duo Wham’s Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go to more than 50 000 followers.
Some interpreted Nadia El Bouroumi’s post as a reference to the fact that the 71-year-old was sedated during the alleged assaults, a claim El Bouroumi has denied. “I’m deeply sorry if my words were misunderstood.
At no point have I tried to make fun of Gisele Pelicot,” wrote the defence attorney in a subsequent post, saying she and her children had been threatened throughout the trial.
El Bouroumi is not the only lawyer who says she has been harassed.
“I have colleagues who are insulted, threatened,” said one lawyer, who requested anonymity over safety concerns. Despite the challenges posed by the case, defence lawyer for Dominique Pelicot, Beatrice Zavarro, said lawyers are just doing their job. “But finding the right tone is crucial.”