Singer Patrick Bruel denies wave of sexual assault allegations in France

Warning: contains details of alleged intersexual offences and misconduct

French prima Patrick Bruel has fiercely denied allegations helium sexually assaulted a fig of women during his 50-year vocation arsenic a vocalist and actor.

Bruel, 67, has successful caller weeks been the taxable of a question of accusations – immoderate of which are present being examined by prosecutors with a presumption to imaginable tribunal action.

Among his latest accusers is the well-known TV and vigor presenter Flavie Flament, who alleges the vocalist drugged and raped her astatine his Paris location successful 1991, erstwhile she was 16 and helium 32.

Bruel, who is presently performing astatine a Paris theatre, wrote successful a station connected Instagram that helium had ne'er successful his beingness "forced myself connected a woman".

"Nor person I ever drugged, manipulated oregon tried to subjugate anyone… nor utilized my fame to maltreatment oregon get non-consensual relations," helium said.

Born Patrick Benguigui successful Algeria successful 1959, Bruel came to fame successful the aboriginal 1980s with songs specified arsenic Marre de cette nana-là (Had capable of that chick). His beardown dependable and acheronian brooding looks led to a nationalist obsession that became known arsenic Bruelmania.

He has remained successful the nationalist oculus and the maltreatment allegations against him person been making front-page quality successful France.

Bruel is owed to commencement a performance circuit successful June of France, Belgium, Switzerland and Canada aft finishing his theatre engagement, but a feminist radical has launched an online petition to person the circuit cancelled.

In summation to Flament, astir 30 different women person complained astir intersexual mistreatment by Bruel, according to French investigative website Mediapart.

Around 10 of these cases are present being reviewed by prosecutors successful the Paris suburb of Nanterre. They see a lawsuit that was initially dropped successful 2020 for deficiency of evidence. Two abstracted allegations are being studied successful the Brittany municipality of Saint-Mâlo and successful Belgium.

French authorities spokeswoman Maud Bregeon said connected Tuesday that pistillate victims should beryllium encouraged to talk retired "even decades later", adding "it is up past up to the justness strategy to found the information of the facts".

Flament told Mediapart that Bruel "set his heart" connected her aft they met connected the acceptable of a TV programme, and 1 time invited her backmost to his flat.

She said she remembered drinking a cupful of tea, and the adjacent happening Bruel was "doing up my trousers arsenic I laic connected his bed". Flament said she was convinced she had been drugged and raped.

On Tuesday, Bruel's lawyer Christophe Ingrain said the communicative was made up and the narration betwixt his lawsuit and Flament had been "totally consensual".

"Patrick Bruel is precise clear: helium ne'er forced himself connected oregon drugged Flavie Flament. There was nary rape," Ingrain told BFMTV.

"They were 2 radical who liked each different and mightiness from clip to clip person enactment erstwhile they met," helium added.

This was instantly denied by Flament, who said: "I ne'er had immoderate narration of immoderate benignant with Patrick Bruel."

Flament was 1 of the archetypal women to rise the alert successful France implicit intersexual exploitation by influential males erstwhile successful 2016 she claimed to person been raped astatine the property of 13 connected the French Riviera by British nude lensman David Hamilton.

This led to a alteration successful the law, expanding the clip successful which charges for intersexual crimes against a insignificant tin beryllium brought against idiosyncratic aft the alleged transgression has been committed from 20 years to 30.