French singer Patrick Bruel in police custody as two new rape complaints filed, bringing alleged victims to 13

French singer and actor Patrick Bruel was placed in police custody on Monday, 8 June, at the 1st district of the judicial police in Paris, as part of an investigation into sexual assault allegations. The Nanterre prosecution office confirmed on Tuesday that his custody has been extended by 24 hours. Under French law, he can be held for up to 48 hours before being either referred to a judge for a possible indictment or released without charges.

The scope of the allegations

Prosecutors stated that the investigation currently concerns 13 alleged victims. The initial focus is on three women who accuse Bruel of sexual assault and attempted rape in 1997, 2000 and 2001. The inquiry also encompasses other reports of rape, attempted rape, sexual assault and harassment identified during the investigation. Bruel faces four rape complaints in France and a judicial inquiry in Belgium related to an alleged rape and sexual assault in Brussels in 2010 involving a woman who was 40 at the time.

New complaints filed

Two new rape complaints were filed on 27 May and 3 June with the senior investigating judge at the Nanterre judicial court, lawyer Corinne Herrmann told Franceinfo. She represents Flavie Flament and two other women accusing Bruel. Herrmann announced that two additional rape complaints will be filed the following week. According to Mediapart, one of the recent complaints was filed by Florima Treiber, a former Miss Alsace who accuses Bruel of raping her in April 2008. The other comes from Séverine, a physiotherapist who met him after a concert in Grenoble in 2000.

We are going to file, in principle, two other rape complaints next week.

High-profile accusers

Among the accusers is television presenter Flavie Flament, who claims she was drugged and raped by Bruel when she was 16 years old in 1991 in Paris. Daniela Elstner, the director-general of Unifrance, the main organisation promoting French cinema worldwide, accuses the artist of sexual assault and attempted rape during a festival in Mexico in 1997, when she was 26. The Portuguese news outlet SIC Notícias reported that around 30 women have now accused Bruel, with the alleged abuses said to have occurred between 1991 and 2015.

Bruel's response and career impact

Bruel, one of France's best-selling recording artists with multiple top-selling albums and more than 40 film appearances, has publicly denied all wrongdoing. His lawyers said in a statement that he would answer all the investigators' questions and provide all the elements necessary to demonstrate his innocence. Under pressure, the singer announced on Friday, 5 June, the cancellation of most of his upcoming tour, which was due to start in Paris this month. Three shows in Montreal had already been cancelled, and other dates in Canada, Belgium and Switzerland were also removed from the schedule. Some performances planned for the European autumn remain in place.

When Patrick Bruel is heard, he is allowed to explain himself and it is also a way of recognising the women's voices.

A wider context

Bruel is the latest in a string of French film and music celebrities to face sexual assault claims. The Guardian noted that film legend Gérard Depardieu was sentenced to 18 months in prison last year, with his appeal to be heard in November. The investigation into Bruel gained momentum after an investigative report published in March by Mediapart, in which eight women initially denounced the singer and actor for alleged sexual assaults.