French singer Patrick Bruel, investigated in two separate files for sexual assault and attempted rape. Six other women claim he abused them
French singer and actor Patrick Bruel is again at the center of serious allegations after two complaints of sexual assault and attempted rape were filed against him, one last week in Paris and the other in 2024 in Saint-Malo, reports AFP, citing sources close to the investigation.
The two complaints were revealed on Wednesday by the investigative website Mediapart, which reported on accusations of six other women of sexual violence for alleged incidents between 1992 and 2019, according to Agerpres, which cites the international agency
Bruel, 66, told AFP through his lawyer Christophe Ingrain that “never tried to coerce someone into a sexual act.”
The performer of the songs “Place des Grands Hommes” and “Casser la voix” claims that he always knew how to accept a refusal and that “never forced anyone into a sexual act or relationship”according to the lawyer.
The latest complaint against him was filed on Thursday, March 12, at the prosecutor's office in Paris by Daniela Elstner, the current director general of Unifrance, the organization responsible for promoting French cinema internationally, a source close to the case confirmed.
Daniela Elstner accuses of sexual assault and attempted rape during the French Film Festival in Acapulco, Mexico, in November 1997. At the time, she was working as an assistant at Unifrance, according to Mediapart.
“Need for Release”
His lawyer explained why he waited so long to file a complaint.
“Her action has less to do with a legal conviction and more to do with a need for release, for herself and all the other (victims),” said lawyer Jade Dousselin, contacted by AFP.
Dousselin added that “Daniela Elstner came to see me for the first time in 2019 to discuss, within the institution she was leading, the emerging issue of the #MeToo movement in France”
There are accusations of sexual assault against the artist. photo capture YouTube Patrick Bruel
“As we struggled together to strike the necessary and complex balance between expressing public opinion and respecting the presumption of innocence, she told me her personal story with great emotion,” she said. said the lawyer.
Another complaint, filed in September 2024 in Saint-Malo, accuses the artist of rape in 2012 during the Dinard British Film Festival, where Bruel was president of the jury. This referral led to the opening of a preliminary investigation, but the singer has not yet been heard.
Patrick Bruel's lawyer says the article “fabricates a character and a system that never existed”
Bruel's lawyer strongly denies the allegations and criticizes the Mediapart article, claiming that it builds “a character and a system that never existed.”
He recalls that two other previous investigations, launched after the accusations of two masseuses, were closed without any consequences in 2020.
