Feminist hero Gisele Pelicot receives France’s highest civilian honour

Global hero Gisèle Pelicot has been awarded France’s highest civilian honour for her bravery during her rape and sexual assault trial.

Gisèle, 72, waived her anonymity during a rape and sexual assault trial against her ex-husband, Dominique Pelicot and 50 other men in Avignon, France.

She’s one of 589 people named in the list to be made knights of the Legion of Honour ahead of France’s national day.

Knights of the Legion of Honour are chosen by the President each year ahead of Bastille Day on July 14, which marks when the Bastille prison was stormed in 1789 during the French Revolution.

Non-French citizens can also be named as members of the Legion of Honour if they have served France or upheld their ideals.

Some foreign nationals who have been named as members include Martin Scorsese, Bette Davis, Vladimir Putin, and JK Rowling.

Who is Gisèle?

Under French law, the names of victims are normally kept out of the press, but she insisted on a public trial in an attempt to expose her ex and the 50 men that he is accused of inviting to rape her.

She allowed journalists to publish her full name and the court to exhibit explicit videos recorded by her husband showing men engaging in sexual intercourse with her while unconscious.

Gisele has said her decisions were in solidarity with all the other women who go unrecognised as victims of sexual crimes.

‘I have decided not to be ashamed, I have done nothing wrong,’ she previously told the court. ‘They are the ones who must be ashamed.

‘I’m not expressing hatred or hate, but I am determined that things change in this society.’

Gisèle attended almost every day of the three-month court case in Avignon, south-east France, and said she decided to reveal who she was so ‘shame swaps sides’, from the victim to the rapist.

The case gained widespread international attention and sparked several protests against sexual violence, in particular sexual violence experienced by girls and women at the hands of men.

Earlier this year, she was named the Most Influential Woman of 2025 by The Independent, topping a list of 50 women from across the world who ‘push boundaries and break down barriers to shape the world around them’.

Gisèle’s lawyer, Stephane Babonneau, said his client was ’emotional’ and ‘humbled’ to learn she had been named The Most Influential Woman of 2025.

He added: ‘Gisèle is honoured and wishes to dedicate this recognition to all victims, and more specifically to those who are fighting alone to get their rights and the truth acknowledged by courts.

‘To these victims, who most often remain in the dark, Gisèle wishes to express her admiration, because she thinks they are the true heroes, and [to] tell [them] that they must know they will never be alone.’

Since her trial concluded, she has remained out of the media. Her lawyer has said she’s writing a book about her experience, which she hopes to release in 2026.

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