French singer Patrick Bruel under formal investigation for rape
French showbiz star Patrick Bruel has been placed under formal judicial investigation for multiple counts of rape and sexual abuse. The 67-year-old denies the allegations and has been released under judicial supervision.
One of France's best-known showbusiness figures, Patrick Bruel, has been placed under formal judicial investigation on several counts of rape and sexual abuse. After two days in custody in the western Paris suburb of Nanterre, the 67-year-old singer and actor appeared before a panel of four judges on Wednesday evening.
The judges confirmed the state prosecutor's request to open an investigation into several cases of rape, attempted rape, sexual assault and harassment. Bruel, who has consistently denied the charges, was released from custody under judicial supervision, rejecting a request from prosecutors that he remain in detention.
Being placed under investigation means an examining magistrate will now look more deeply into the charges, and Bruel's lawyers will have access to the prosecution file. In most cases, the procedure results in a trial. Of the nine alleged offences put forward by prosecutors, the judges formally moved ahead on four counts: rape, sexual assault and sexual harassment.
The rape allegation dates back to 2008, an alleged attempted rape to 2010, and the other two charges to 2019. Under French law, rape is defined as any non-consensual act of penetration.
Bruel has been told he cannot leave French territory, cannot contact alleged victims or family members, and must not visit massage parlours, as one allegation of sexual harassment involves a massage in Corsica.
The case against Bruel comes at a time of heightened sensitivity in France about judicial treatment of sex offences, after the murder of an 11-year-old girl named Lyhanna, whose suspected killer had been the object of several prior denunciations for abuse.
Bruel, born Patrick Benguigui in Algeria in 1959, rose to fame in the early 1980s with songs like "Marre de cette nana-là" and experienced a wave of 'Bruelmania'. He has appeared in over 30 films and was recently in a theatre production in Paris. His last performances there were cancelled because of the allegations, as were most dates on a planned concert tour of France, Belgium, Switzerland and Canada, which will now definitively not take place.
The singer was previously the subject of complaints for sexual harassment, but those were shelved in 2020 for lack of evidence. In May this year, investigative website Mediapart reported that around 30 women had told similar stories of harassment or assault, many taking place on film locations or off-stage in music venues.
Last month, the accusers were joined by well-known TV and radio presenter Flavie Flament, who alleged that in 1991, when she was 16 and he 32, the singer had drugged and raped her at his Paris home. The Flament case was not among the nine cited by the judges because the alleged crime took place too long ago. However, the state prosecutor asked that it and 12 other older allegations be reconsidered for possible inclusion in the charges.
Bruel has denied the allegations. According to French media, he told his entourage recently that "I may have been heavy-handed... but I always took no for an answer." In an Instagram post last month, the singer said he had never in his life "forced myself on a woman" nor drugged, manipulated, or tried to subjugate anyone, nor used his fame to abuse or obtain non-consensual relations.
