AVIGNON, France (AFP) — The wives and girlfriends of dozens of men on trial in France accused of raping another woman while she was drugged by her husband have reacted with anger and disbelief, although some say they will stand by the accused.

In a court case that has shocked France, Dominique Pelicot, 71, has admitted to drugging his then wife Gisele with sedatives so that strangers could sexually abuse her in her own bed for almost a decade until 2020.

Another 50 men, aged 26 to 74, are also on trial in the southern city of Avignon accused of responding to his invitation to rape her.

Some, including Pelicot, are in custody, and one is being tried in absentia, but 32 of the defendants are attending as free men.

Among the women who have testified at the trial, Vanessa P. said she no longer had any respect for her former partner Quentin H., 34, who was a prison guard when he allegedly abused Gisele Pelicot.

“When you see what they are accusing him of, you start doubting everything,” said the childcare worker, accusing him of being “manipulative.”

Emilie O., 33, similarly described her ex-partner Hugues M., a 39-year-old charged with “attempted rape” in the trial.

“I thought I was living a peaceful and fulfilling life, but I was wrong,” she said, adding she would always fear that she too was raped.

Emilie O. separated from her partner in 2020, when police uncovered the years-long abuse of Gisele Pelicot and she discovered Hugues M. had had several affairs.

Like Gisele Pelicot, Cilia M. was also drugged and raped.

Her husband Jean-Pierre M., 63, is the only defendant in the trial not accused of abusing Gisele Pelicot.

Instead he and Dominique Pelicot have been charged with repeatedly drugging and sexually assaulting Cilia M. between 2015 and 2018, using the same method.

Cilia M. told the court she would “never forgive” her husband, who has claimed his own father sexually abused him as a child.