The accusations against Bruel, 66, date back to the height of his career as a singer and teen idol in the early 90s.
Bruel was 30 years old when he became a household name in France singing radio-friendly pop-rock hits.
He quickly garnered heartthrob status among his largely female fanbase; such was the fervour around him that the media coined the phrase “Bruelmania”.
Currently starring in a play in Paris, Bruel, who is also an acclaimed actor, has faced a firestorm of controversy in recent weeks following claims by several women that he sexually assaulted them, with some alleged incidents dating back decades.
French investigative news outlet Mediapart in March published testimony from eight women claiming the star “acted inappropriately” towards them between 1992 and 2019. One was a minor when the alleged sexual assault took place.
France’s Elle magazine this week published an investigation in which four more women accused Bruel of rape and sexual assault.
Two women in France and one in Belgium have brought charges against Bruel for rape or attempted rape.
His lawyer, Christophe Ingrain, has rejected the allegations. Bruel “maintains he never rejected a refusal (to have sex), never forced anyone into a sexual act or relationship”, he said.
‘He stole my first time’
Bruel’s enduring popularity – which may in part be due to his likeable, media-friendly persona – has seen him achieve both critical and commercial success.
As well as being one of France’s most high-profile singers with four decades of chart-topping albums, Brunel is also a noted actor.
He has appeared in more than 40 movies, most of which are light-hearted comedies, and was nominated in 2013 for the César Award for Best Actor for his role in ensemble comedy “Le Prénom” (What’s in a name?).
Among Bruel’s accusers are a journalist who worked with him in Monaco, two former employees at the music label BMG, two press officers, and Ophélie Fajfer, who was 19 when she met Bruel on the set of a music video in Marseille.
Fajfer claims Bruel raped and sexually assaulted her after she accepted his invitation to visit him at home in the hope it could help her launch a music career. “He stole my first time, my innocence,” she told Elle.
The two press officers described Bruel as “charming” and “warm” in public but behaving inappropriately in private.
‘A need for liberation’
Bruel has in the past faced accusations of alleged sexual assault and harassment, but no charges had ever been brought.
He faced an inquiry into exhibitionism and sexual harassment in Switzerland which was dropped in 2008. Courts in 2020 closed two investigations after complaints the previous year by two massage therapists.
Fajfer’s complaint was dismissed in 2022 by the public prosecutor’s office in Nanterre but has been referred for review to the public prosecutor’s office in Saint-Malo, Brittany.
Prosecutors in Saint-Malo have also started a formal investigation into a woman’s claims, made in September 2024, that she was raped during the British film festival in Dinard in October 2012 when Bruel was jury chairman.
A new complaint, reported by Mediapart, has been brought by Daniela Elstner, head of the Unifrance body that promotes French cinema. Elstner was a 26-year-old assistant at the organisation when she alleges Bruel attacked her at a French film festival in Acapulco, Mexico in 1997.
Elstner’s lawyer said she filed a complaint with police last month over an alleged attempted rape and sexual assault.
As France has a 20-year statute of limitations for this type of crime, the claim is unlikely to go to trial. Elstner’s lawyer said it was motivated by a “need for liberation”.
‘Bruelmania’
The snowballing accusations come in what was set to be a landmark year for Bruel.
After a run in the Paris theatre production of “Deuxième partie” (Second part), he was set to embark on a 40-date tour to mark the 35th anniversary of his breakout album “Alors regarde”, which sold three million copies in France.
The tour came about in response to unprecedented interest in his three Paris concert dates marking the album’s anniversary, Bruel said on social media.
In late February, many of the concerts had sold out.
The album – which generated Bruel’s biggest hit, the stirring rock ballad “La place des grands hommes” (The place of great men) – was released in 1991, when Bruel was at the peak of his popularity.
A notable incident that year saw the police called to a Paris pizzeria when the establishment and surrounding streets were besieged by screaming fans who believed Bruel was dining inside.
Outside Paris’s Théâtre Édouard VII, where Bruel is currently performing, many fans were still supportive of the star.
“We’re living in a time when media bashing unfortunately takes precedence over the presumption of innocence,” Carine, 62, told Le Parisien.
Corinne, 55, found it hard to believe “that a man who’s idolised like that” could have assaulted women.
On social media, fans have also leapt to Bruel’s defence under posts detailing the accusations against him.
Born Patrick Maurice Benguigui in the midst of the Algerian War, the star is a shrewd businessman, running a wine and olive oil production business on his estate in Provence, and has also gained fame as a top-level poker player, winning an estimated $1.5 million.
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