Chief defendant Dominique Pelicot has since September been in the dock in southern city Avignon along with 49 other men for organising the rapes and sexual abuse of his now ex-wife Gisele Pelicot.
The case has shocked France still working through its version of the MeToo movement, with the latest demonstrations calling for increased protection against sexual violence bringing out tens of thousands.
Its impact has been relayed around the world, with 57 of the 138 media organisations covering the trial from outside France.
On Thursday, the president of Chile’s parliament hailed Gisele Pelicot’s courage and dignity calling her an ordinary citizen who has taught the whole world a lesson.
Beyond Dominique Pelicot, who has admitted to all of the charges, prosecutors must decide on appropriate potential punishments for the other defendants, men aged 26 to 74 and from all walks of life.
Many argued in court that they believed Dominique Pelicot’s claim they were participating in a libertine fantasy, in which his then-wife had consented to sexual contact and was only pretending to be asleep.
Among them, 33 have also claimed they were not in their right minds when they abused or raped Gisele Pelicot — a defence not backed up by any of the psychological reports compiled by court-appointed experts.
Sentencing requests are slated to take three full days in the court’s agenda, with prosecutors themselves estimating an average of 15 minutes per defendant.
The court’s five judges will not issue their ruling on the sentences until late December.