Patrick Bruel in custody: thirteen women accuse him of sexual assault
French artist Patrick Bruel has been arrested and placed in custody. He is answering questions from investigators concerning complaints of rape and sexual assault filed by thirteen women, with alleged incidents dating back to 1997.
Patrick Bruel in custody: thirteen women accuse him of sexual assault
Law enforcement has placed singer and actor Patrick Bruel in custody. The 67-year-old man is currently being questioned as part of an investigation into rape, attempted rape and sexual assault. Thirteen women have filed complaints against him, and some accusations date back nearly thirty years.
The Nanterre prosecutor's office confirmed this deprivation of liberty measure, as reported by the New York Times. The alleged facts span a long period. Three complainants denounce sexual assaults and attempted rapes that occurred respectively in 1997, 2000 and 2001. The other alleged victims cite rapes, sexual assaults, attempted assaults and harassment. One case involves a forty-year-old Belgian national and events that occurred in 2010.
Judicial investigations began in April. They followed an investigation published by the website Mediapart in March. Eight women had testified there, describing inappropriate behaviour committed between 1992 and 2019. At the time, two of them had already taken legal action.
The case took on considerable media attention in May, when journalist Flavie Flament filed a complaint. She claims she suffered rape by Bruel in 1991, when she was a minor — sixteen years old — and he was twice her age. On social media, she stated that the artist had stolen her adolescence. Nevertheless, the Franceinfo channel clarified that this matter was not addressed during Monday's questioning.
The person in question categorically rejects all accusations. In an Instagram post dated May, he assured that he had never forced any woman to do anything, nor drugged, manipulated, nor sought to enslave anyone.
These revelations caused considerable outrage in France. Feminist activists occupied a theatre where Bruel was performing in May, wearing masks bearing his likeness and chanting hostile slogans. The venue had to cancel subsequent performances. The artist also gave up all his concerts scheduled until the end of summer.
This case is part of a broader context of accusations against French entertainment personalities. Actor Gérard Depardieu was sentenced in May 2025 for sexual assaults committed on a film set in 2021.
The #MeToo wave reached France with a certain delay compared to other nations. During the first years following 2017, few trials actually took place despite a large number of testimonies made public.
Source: nTV
Source: Google News LU DE