Prosecutors are seeking maximum punishment for Gisele Pelicot’s ex-husband

A high-profile rape trial in France has entered a new phase, with prosecutors setting out the verdicts and sentences they want for dozens of men accused of raping Gisele Pelicot while she was drugged and rendered unconscious by her husband.

After hearings that have stretched over nearly three months, the trial is beginning to wind down in the southern city of Avignon, with prosecutors summarizing the sentences they want for the 51 suspects.

They first focused on Dominique Pelicot, the man to whom 71-year-old Gisele Pelicot was married for almost 50 years.

He has acknowledged that for years he mixed sedatives into her food and drink so he could rape her and also invite dozens of strangers to sexually assault her.

The 72-year-old stared at the ground, with one hand on the handle of his cane, as the accuser spoke.

“Twenty years between the four walls of a prison,” she said.

“It’s both a lot and not enough.”

The court is expected to rule before December 20.

During the trial, Ms Pelicot has become a symbol of the fight against sexual violence in France.

She has insisted that the proceedings be held in public, against the court’s suggestion that the trial be held behind closed doors.

And she is praised for her courage and composure, but also admired for speaking in a calm and clear voice and allowing her full name to be published – unusual under French law for alleged victims in rape cases.