Patrick Bruel accused of rape by Flavie Flament, who files complaint
Television and radio presenter Flavie Flament announced on 15 May 2026 that she is filing a complaint against Patrick Bruel for rape, with the alleged incidents dating back to 1991. The artist contests the accusations.
New complaint against Patrick Bruel: Flavie Flament accuses him of rape in 1991
According to RFI, television and radio presenter Flavie Flament, 51, announced on Friday 15 May 2026 that she has filed a complaint for rape against singer and actor Patrick Bruel, 67. The alleged incidents date back to 1991, when she was 16 years old.
"I am facing my past again. And a man who plundered my adolescence. I am filing a complaint against Patrick Bruel for rape," Flavie Flament wrote in a message posted on Instagram. She claims she was raped at his home and says she is convinced she was drugged on that occasion.
The presenter had already testified to these incidents, under anonymity, to the news website Mediapart, which published in March numerous accounts from women claiming to be victims of the artist. Flament indicated that she was "outraged" upon reading these accounts, in which she detected "similarities" with what she accuses Bruel of.
The singer contests the accusations
Patrick Bruel's lawyers, Christophe Ingrain and Céline Lasek, have denied any rape to Agence France-Presse (AFP). Their client asserts that he has "never drugged Flavie Flament, and never forced her into any sexual relations". They specified that the two public figures met in the 1990s and had "an occasional relationship at the time", adding that "their exchanges have always been friendly since".
As early as 18 March, Bruel had already declared to AFP, through his lawyer Ingrain, that he had "never sought to compel anyone to a sexual act" and had "never overstepped a refusal".
Flavie Flament's lawyer, Corinne Herrmann, stated to AFP that she expects "the judicial court to designate an investigating judge at the earliest opportunity". She emphasised that it will be up to the courts to determine whether the facts are established and to rule on the question of statutory limitations.
A judicial case expanding
This new complaint adds to a series of procedures already underway. In France, two investigations are open: one in Saint-Malo for alleged rape in connection with a film festival in October 2012; the other in Paris for attempted rape and sexual assault, incidents reported by a manager of the promotion of French films abroad, which date back to 1997 in Mexico.
On 12 May, the Women's Foundation announced the filing of two additional complaints with civil party status at the Nanterre public prosecutor's office, "for sexual assault and for attempted rape". These two women had already filed complaints in 2019 and 2020 and are now requesting the opening of a judicial investigation. A judicial inquiry has also been opened in Belgium, following a complaint recorded in late March for a suspected sexual assault in Brussels.
A figure in the fight against violence against children
Flavie Flament is known in France as one of the prominent voices speaking out against violence against children. Ten years ago, she revealed that she had been raped by photographer David Hamilton, nearly 30 years earlier — a timespan considered too long for her complaint to be investigated. Hamilton denied the facts before being found dead at his Paris home, with the theory of suicide being favoured. Flament subsequently led, alongside a magistrate, a mission aimed at advancing the question of statutory limitations regarding sexual violence.
Mobilisations around the tour
Patrick Bruel continues to perform in a play by Samuel Benchetrit at the Édouard VII theatre in Paris. A tour is also planned, with 58 dates in France, Belgium, Switzerland and Québec, from 16 June at the Cirque d'Hiver until December.
Organisations and feminist campaigners — including actresses Anna Mouglalis, Corinne Masiero and Anouk Grinberg — have signed a petition calling for the "cancellation of the celebration of an alleged aggressor and to support these women who had the courage to speak out".
On 10 May, dozens of people had demonstrated outside a luxury hotel belonging to Bruel in L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue (Vaucluse). The Feminist Salon collective, which initiated the gathering, described the event on Instagram as a "foretaste of the mobilisations of the upcoming tour".
Source: RFI