Gisele Pelicot walks with her lawyers as they arrive at the courthouse in the southeastern French city of Avignon during the trial of her former husband Dominique Pelicot accused of drugging her for nearly ten years and inviting strangers to rape her
Gisele Pelicot walks with her lawyers as they arrive at the courthouse in the southeastern French city of Avignon during the trial of her former husband Dominique Pelicot accused of drugging her for nearly ten years and inviting strangers to rape her AFP

A French court on Monday began hearing the cases against six new defendants as the mass rape trial that has sparked horror in the country moved into its fourth week.

Dominique Pelicot, who has admitted to the allegations, is accused of enlisting dozens of strangers to rape his drugged wife over nearly a decade.

The 71-year-old has been on trial since the start of the month along with 50 other men aged between 26 and 74, many of whom have denied the accusations -- including one who is alleged to have raped his own wife.

On Monday, Pelicot was in court in the southeastern French city of Avignon, but he was not due to speak until later this week.

His former wife Gisele Pelicot, 71, arrived in court to applause from the public, who once again turned out in large numbers to watch the proceedings.

She listened impassively to details of the personality assessments of six of her alleged attackers.

Among them was Joan K., the youngest of the 50 co-defendants who was 22 at the time of the alleged assaults.

He is suspected of having visited the couple's home in the town of Mazan to rape Gisele Pelicot on two occasions.

Born in French Guiana, he joined his brother in Avignon when he was 16, before enlisting in the army.

Joan K. was in a relationship with a woman he met on the internet, but their time together was marked by "numerous" conflicts and "extramarital relations", the court heard.

At the time of their separation, Joan K.'s partner was pregnant.

In November 2019, he was absent for the birth of his own daughter on one of the occassions he is accused of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot in Mazan.

Described by investigators as a man with depressive tendencies, Joan K. was expected to be heard at the end of the week.

The court will also be considering the charges against Andy R., 37, Hugues M., 39, Husamettin D., 43, Mathieu D., 62 and Fabien S., 39, each of whom visited the Pelicots' home once.

Gisele Pelicot has become an overnight feminist icon and received praise for demanding the trial be open to the public to raise awareness about the use of drugs to commit sexual abuse.

Thousands of protesters have taken to the streets to support her.