“There will be ‘before’ and there will be ‘after’ the Pellicot trial,” one Parisian told the BBC in the first days of the trial.
For many, that sentiment has only intensified in the past few months, during which intense media coverage of the Pelicott trial has spawned countless conversations about rape, consent and gender-based violence.
“What we need to do is make the sentences much tougher,” Nicholas and Mehdi, two Mazan residents, told the BBC. They said they were “disgusted” when they learned one of the accused was a man they had played football with.
“With longer terms, they would at least think before they do these things,” they said, adding that it was “crazy unfair” that some of the men could be out of jail in the next few months.
