France is set for a shocking appeal session in a mass rape case that shook public opinion

The French Court of Appeal is preparing to hear one of the most controversial humanitarian cases in the country tomorrow, Monday, where Gisèle Billico, 72 years old, faces one of the men previously convicted of raping her in what is known in the media as the "mass rape case in Avignon".

Her lawyer, Antoine Camau, confirmed to the French news agency that his client preferred to avoid confronting her attacker, but she decided to attend to affirm that "rape remains rape, and there is no such thing as simple rape".

The lower court had convicted 51 men in this case, but only one appealed, Hossam Eddin D. (44 years old), who claimed he thought what happened was an "erotic game," alleging that he believed Billico was "pretending to be asleep." He was previously sentenced to nine years in prison.

The details of the case date back to years of systematic sexual violence perpetrated by her ex-husband, Dominique Billico, who would drug her using sleeping pills and then allow other men to rape her after finding them through online forums and inviting them to his home.

During the first trial, Dominique Billico confessed to his crime, confirming that he and his fifty accomplices were involved in "completed rape crimes," and he was sentenced to 20 years in prison. He is scheduled to testify as a witness in the upcoming sessions.

Gisèle Billico insisted on making her trial sessions public, a move that received widespread attention in France and contributed to a legislative amendment later approved by Parliament, defining rape as only occurring with the voluntary and conscious consent of both parties.

Billico is expected to release her new book titled "Un hymne à la vie" or "A Hymn to Life" at the beginning of 2026, which will be translated into twenty languages, where she will recount her experience and courage in facing pain.