Singer Patrick Bruel denies wave of sexual assault allegations in France

Bruel is due to start a concert tour in June of France, Belgium, Switzerland and Canada after finishing his theatre engagement, but a feminist group has launched an online petition to have the tour cancelled.In addition to Flament, around 30 other women have complained about sexual mistreatment by Bruel, according to French investigative website Mediapart.Around 10 of these cases are now being reviewed by prosecutors in the Paris suburb of Nanterre. They include a case that was initially dropped in 2020 for lack of evidence. Two separate allegations are being studied in the Brittany town of Saint-Mâlo and in Belgium.French government spokeswoman Maud Bregeon said on Tuesday that female victims should be encouraged to speak out "even decades later", adding "it is up then up to the justice system to establish the truth of the facts".Antoine Flament/Getty ImagesFlavie Flament has flat denied claims by Bruel's lawyer that she had any relationship at all with the singerFlament told Mediapart that Bruel "set his heart" on her after they met on the set of a TV programme, and one day invited her back to his flat.She said she remembered drinking a cup of tea, and the next thing Bruel was "doing up my trousers as I lay on his bed". Flament said she was convinced she had been drugged and raped.On Tuesday, Bruel's lawyer Christophe Ingrain said the story was made up and the relationship between his client and Flament had been "totally consensual".