In 1974, in the Calanques of Marseille, two young Belgian tourists were assaulted and raped by three men. For four years, these two young women and their lawyers fought to bring their attackers before the Criminal Court of Aix-en-Provence.
To that end, and on two separate occasions, they asked the Marseille Criminal Court—something that was unthinkable at the time—to recuse itself. At the time, rape was classified only as a misdemeanor. Thanks to Gisèle Halimi, a lawyer committed to the feminist cause, their trial was finally able to proceed in a criminal court of first instance. For the first time, rape was classified as a felony.