French singer and actor Patrick Bruel was placed in police custody on Monday as investigators question him in connection with sexual assault, attempted rape, and rape allegations spanning more than a decade. The Nanterre prosecution office — based in a western suburb of Paris — confirmed that Bruel, 67, is being questioned in relation to accusations made by 13 alleged victims, with incidents reported between 1997 and 2012 in both France and Belgium.
Three women have accused Bruel of sexual assault and attempted rape in 1997, 2000, and 2001. Prosecutors are also investigating an alleged rape in the coastal town of Dinard in 2012 and a separate sexual assault allegation originating in Brussels in 2010. Two additional rape complaints were filed on 27 May and 3 June by two further women. Authorities may hold Bruel for up to 48 hours of questioning.
The allegations first became public in March, following a report by French investigative journalists. Among those who came forward was television presenter Flavie Flament, who alleged that Bruel had drugged and raped her when she was 16 years old. Bruel, one of France's best-selling recording artists with multiple chart-topping albums and more than 40 film appearances, has firmly denied all wrongdoing. "I have never forced a woman. I have never drugged, manipulated or looked for anyone to submit," he wrote in a social media post last month. His legal team said he would "answer all the investigators' questions and will provide all the elements necessary to demonstrate his innocence." He has cancelled most of an upcoming tour that had been scheduled to begin in Paris this month.
The case places Bruel among a growing number of prominent French entertainment figures facing sexual misconduct accusations in recent years. Actor and film legend Gérard Depardieu was sentenced to 18 months in prison last year on related charges, with an appeal due to be heard in November. The widening scope of the Bruel investigation — now covering multiple alleged victims across two countries and a 15-year timeframe — underlines how France's reckoning with sexual violence in the entertainment industry continues to gather momentum.