WARNING: This story contains details of sexual abuse
Gisèle Pelicot, who became a feminist icon by publicly testifying over the mass rapes she endured, has been awarded France's top civic honour.
Pelicot, 72, was named a Knight of the Legion of Honour on a list announced ahead of France's July 14 national day.
Pelicot earned international tributes for her courage in testifying at a trial in 2024 against her former husband, who drugged her and arranged for her to be raped by dozens of men over a decade.
She has since been named on lists of the world's most influential people by international media and the case helped forced a change in France's rape law to include the notion of consent as a constitutive element of the crime of rape.
Her image and now trademark sunglasses are emblazoned in street art across the country.
Rallies have been held in her honour and the case has prompted conversations about attitudes towards women, sexual assault victims who have been drugged, and legal reform.
"I want any woman who wakes up one morning with no memories of the night before to remember what I said, so that no more women can fall prey," she told the court during the trial.
Pelicot has remained silent since the trial. Her lawyer says she is concentrating on writing a book, set to be released in 2026, giving her side of the mass-rape story.
On the list of 589 recipients of France's top civilian honour was also rapper and Louis Vuitton creative director, Pharrell WIlliams.
Williams, 52, made his name as a rapper and singer but earned a second fortune as a music producer, and by designing clothes and accessories for several brands.
His recent Paris show attracted a host of international celebrities, including Jay-Z and Beyonce, film directors Steve McQueen and Spike Lee and football and basketball stars.
Actor Lea Drucker, veteran singer Sylvie Vartan, writer Marc Levy and Auschwitz deportee Yvette Levy, 99, were also among the figures awarded the Legion of Honour along with a host of former ministers, academics and top legal names.
ABC/wires
