Patrick Bruel's travel ban lifted six weeks after rape charges, Nanterre prosecutor appeals

Judicial control eased

Patrick Bruel, the 67-year-old French singer and actor, was charged on June 10, 2026 with rape, attempted rape, sexual assault, and sexual harassment in four cases, and placed under the more favorable status of assisted witness in four others. Upon his indictment, investigating judges in Nanterre placed him under judicial control, which included a ban on leaving French territory. The Nanterre prosecutor's office had separately requested pre-trial detention, a request that was not granted. On July 21, 2026, six weeks after the travel ban was imposed, an investigating judge granted a request from Bruel's lawyers for a partial lifting of the judicial control, specifically removing the prohibition on leaving the country. Virginie Deneux, deputy prosecutor of Nanterre, confirmed that the judge had ruled on a request for partial lifting of the judicial control concerning the ban on leaving national territory. The prosecutor's office appealed the ruling, describing it as "unjustified" and "excessive." The investigation chamber of the Versailles Court of Appeal is now seized of the appeal. Pending its decision, Bruel can travel freely within France and abroad.

Remaining conditions

While the travel ban has been lifted pending the appeal, other judicial control obligations remain in force. Bruel is still prohibited from contacting the complainants or their families, must not visit massage parlors, and is required to undergo psychological treatment. He also paid a bail of 500,000 euros to the court. The appeal is now before the investigation chamber of the Versailles Court of Appeal, which will rule on whether the easing was justified. Until that ruling, the singer remains free to travel both within France and internationally, as the judge's decision to lift the travel ban is not suspended by the appeal. Contacted by franceinfo, Bruel's lawyers declined to comment on the easing of the judicial control.

Scope of the cases

Bruel was charged in four cases and placed under the more favorable status of assisted witness in four others. The four investigating judges handling the dossier are also seized of sexual violence allegations by several other women that appear, at first glance, to be time-barred. Since his indictment, at least six new complaints have been filed against Bruel for rape, attempted rape, and sexual assault, covering acts committed between September 1992 and 2014, according to Ouest France. Mediapart reported that at least seven new complaints have been filed since the indictment. One of the charges involves an attempted rape in 2010 in Brussels, reported by press attaché Karine Viseur, allegedly occurring on the margins of a promotional event.

Public sightings and defense response

Mediapart reported receiving messages from readers who said they had spotted Bruel abroad this summer, in airport corridors or hotels, prompting questions about his travel status. Bruel's defense team, Fanny Colin, Céline Lasek, and Christophe Ingrain, stated that the singer would respond to "these accusations, which he firmly contests, in the only relevant and appropriate framework: the justice system, if it is seized of these alleged facts from twenty and thirty years ago." Regarding the easing of judicial control specifically, the defense estimated that it "called for no comment."