As Gisèle Pelicot faces an individual assailants during legal proceedings, what has changed within the country?
The nation's mass rape victim, Gisèle Pelicot, is returning to court on Monday to face an individual convicted of assaulting her, the only man who is contesting the judicial outcome from the previous year in which a total of 51 accused were convicted of assaulting her as she lay, drugged, by her husband in their family home.
Back then, Madame Pelicot's defiant public stance was seen as a possible turning point in the battle against sexual violence. However across the nation, that positive outlook appears to be wilting.
"I'll smash your head in should you remain here," growled a man positioned near a ancient place of worship in the community, the scenic area where the couple previously resided.
He'd just overheard me asking an elderly woman about the influence of the Pelicot case on the nation and, while vowing to damage our camera too, was now explaining that the community was fed up with being linked to one of the internationally recognized sexual assault cases.
Earlier in the week, the town's leader had put forth a gentler version of the identical viewpoint, in a public statement that depicted the survivor's extended trauma as "a personal situation… that has no relevance to our town."
One can well understand Mayor Louis Bonnet's wish to defend the locality's standing and its travel business. But it seems worth noting that a previous period, he'd made headlines nationwide after he'd stated to me on two occasions, in an discussion, that he wanted to "play down" the seriousness of Gisèle Pelicot's ordeals because "no-one was killed", and no children were involved.
It is also worth noting that nearly every one of the female residents we did speak to in the town last week disagreed with the official's wish to view the legal matter as, mostly, something to "move beyond."
Smoking a cigarette in a shadowed entrance near the place of worship, a government worker, who provided the name the individual, expressed with undisguised bitterness.
"People no longer discuss it, even here in Mazan. It appears to be forgotten. I know someone experiencing abuse at home at this moment. But women hide it. They're afraid of the individuals who engage in such behavior," she said, noting that she was "certain" that further Gisèle Pelicot's rapists remained undetected, and at large, in the community.
Walking nearby past a couple of cats enjoying the warmth, another resident, elderly, was equally keen to talk, but held an opposing perspective of the Pelicot case.
"Globally things are changing. France is evolving." Because of the individual's stance? "Certainly. It has provided encouragement, for women to express themselves openly," she informed me, emphatically.
Throughout the nation, there is little question that the publicity produced by the survivor's internationally transmitted determination that "embarrassment must transfer" - from victim to rapist – has supplemented the drive to a effort targeting assault previously invigorated by the MeToo movement.
"In my opinion altering conduct is something that takes generations. [But] the Pelicot case sparked a significant, landmark initiative… against sexual violence, and fighting exemption from punishment," stated an activist, who co-ordinates a network of 50 feminist organisations in the country. "We concentrate on instructing experts, supporting victims, on examinations."
"Yes, France has changed. The cases of abuse has tripled, demonstrating that those affected – ladies and young women – they speak up and they desire accountability," agreed an advocate, voice of the organization "Osez le féminisme".
And yet, the vigor and hope that engulfed Gisèle Pelicot last December, as she exited the Avignon courthouse and into a scrum of supporters, have not led to many significant alterations to the way the national government handles the challenge of abuse.
Actually, there is a near consensus among campaigners and experts that conditions are, rather, declining.
"Unfortunately, the government does not react," said the advocate, citing figures showing that numbers of guilty verdicts are not improving notwithstanding a significant increase in instances of abuse.
"The outlook is grim. There is a backlash. Rape culture ideas are resurfacing significantly. This is evident in the men's rights activism gaining traction, especially with adolescent males," added Alyssa Ahrabare,
