“THANK You Gisele,” a huge banner read opposite the Avignon courtroom today as Gisele Pelicot watched her rapist husband Dominique sentenced to 20 years behind bars.

Mr Pelicot received the maximum sentence for aggravated rape under French law after admitting he had drugged his wife over years, knocking her out and recruiting strangers online who abused her while he filmed the process. At 72, he may die in jail.

All 50 men accused of the rape or sexual assault of Ms Pelicot in a trial which has shaken France got jail sentences, ranging from three to 15 years, though prosecutors said they felt many of the sentences were too lenient.

Ms Pelicot waived her right to anonymity as a survivor of sexual abuse and pushed successfully for the evidence, including the videos her husband took, to be heard and viewed in open court, “so that all victims of rape no longer feel ashamed.” She looked each defendant in the eye as they were sent down.

Feminists across France say her courage has opened up a national conversation about rape and sexual abuse.

“Men are starting to talk to women — their girlfriends, mothers and friends,” said activist Fanny Foures of the Amazons feminist organisation.

“Some women are realising, maybe for the first time, that their ex-husbands violated them, or that someone close to them committed abuse.

“And men are starting to reckon with their own behaviour or complicity — things they’ve ignored or failed to act on. It’s heavy, but it’s creating change.”

Mr Pelicot was initially arrested after a supermarket security guard caught him filming up women’s skirts. Police raiding his home discovered a vast library documenting the years of abuse. Seventy-two men feature in the videos, but it was not possible to identify them all.

The trial has exposed widespread misogynist attitudes, with some defendants claiming a husband could consent to sex on his wife’s behalf, or that they believed they were taking part in a consensual sex game. Ms Pelicot rejected all excuses, declaring: “They are rapists, full stop.”