One of France's most celebrated showbusiness stars, Patrick Bruel, has been placed under formal investigation on charges of rape, attempted rape, sexual assault and sexual harassment after more than 20 women came forward with allegations stretching back to the 1990s.
The 67-year-old singer and actor, whose career took off in the early 1980s and who sparked a wave of "Bruelmania", spent two days in custody in the western Paris suburb of Nanterre before appearing before a panel of four judges on Wednesday evening. They confirmed the state prosecutor's request that he be placed under judicial investigation – a step that means an examining magistrate will now look more deeply into the case, with most such procedures resulting in a trial.
“French star Patrick Bruel charged with rape and sexual assault over allegations dating back to 1992.”
The Nanterre prosecutor's office said Bruel had been questioned over cases relating to nine alleged victims between 2000 and 2019. Complaints from another 13 women accusing him of rape, attempted rape, sexual assault and sexual harassment from 1992 to 2008 had been added to the file handed to investigating magistrates, even if they "appeared to be beyond the statute of limitations at this stage", the office said.
Bruel has consistently denied all charges. His lawyers told investigative website Mediapart that he denied "all allegations of violence, brutality or constraint". He was released on bail in the early hours of Thursday.
The case comes at a time of heightened sensitivity in France about judicial treatment of sex offences, after the murder of an 11-year-old girl, Lyhanna, whose suspected killer had been the object of several prior denunciations for abuse. Alongside actor Gérard Depardieu – who was given a suspended sentence last year for sexual assault on a film set – Bruel is the most celebrated French figure to be targeted by such accusations.
Born Patrick Benguigui in Algeria in 1959, Bruel rose to fame with songs like "Marre de cette nana-là" and appeared in more than 30 films. At the height of his fame, French media often described him admiringly as a "seducer" or "Don Juan". He was also briefly a world poker champion in 1998.
The singer's last theatre performances in Paris were cancelled because of the allegations, as were most dates on a planned concert tour of France, Belgium, Switzerland and Canada. Feminist campaigners protested, and the mayors of Marseille, Paris and Nancy urged him to cancel his concerts, resulting in him calling off the tour.
In May this year, investigative website Mediapart reported that around 30 women had told similar stories of harassment or assault, many of them 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. That case is not among the nine cited by the judges because the alleged crime took place too long ago, but the state prosecutor has asked that it and 12 other older allegations be reconsidered.
The women who spoke out against Bruel include Daniela Elstner, the current director of Unifrance, a key cultural institution which promotes French cinema abroad. Separately, lawyer Myriam Guedj Benayoun said this week she had filed a new complaint.