What to know about a French ex-senator on trial for drugging a lawmaker to sexually assault her

PARIS (AP) - Over a year ago, France was shaken by a shocking case in which dozens of men were accused of raping a drugged woman, Gisèle Pelicot, with the help of her husband. The country is still grappling with the prevalence of drug-facilitated sexual assault as a former senator goes on trial, accused of slipping MDMA into a fellow lawmaker's drink in order to abuse her.

Joël Guerriau, 68, is accused of putting the drug MDMA, known as ecstasy, in a glass of champagne he served to lawmaker Sandrine Josso in November 2023. He has admitted serving her a drink spiked with MDMA but says it was an accident.

Josso 50, has since been outspoken about the case and helped lead a parliamentary investigation into drug-related crimes.

The two-day trial that started Monday echoes the landmark drugging-and-rape case that riveted France and turned Gisèle Pelicot into a global icon of the fight against sexual violence.

Here's what to know about the case that brought national attention to drug-facilitated assault in France.

Guerriau is charged with the use and possession of drugs, and with secretly administering a discernment-altering substance to commit a rape or sexual assault.

According to Josso, a centrist member of parliament, the center-right senator invited her to his apartment in Paris for what she believed to be a reelection celebration. Josso had known Guerriau for years and considered him as a friend.

Josso said she started feeling unwell quickly after drinking champagne, with heart palpitations and her body shivering.

She headed out, took a taxi and went to a hospital, where a substantial quantity of MDMA was found in a blood test, far higher than the level typical of recreational use.

Josso took a leave of absence for medical and psychological reasons. Two months later, when she made her comeback at the National Assembly, she described the scene.

"I went to a friend's house to celebrate his re-election. I came out terrified," she told lawmakers. "I discovered an assailant. I then realized that I had been drugged without knowing it. That's what we call drug-facilitated assault," she added.

Guerriau insisted he had no intention to drug Josso or to assault her.

Guerriau told the court Monday he made a "very serious" mistake that caused him to serve Josso a drugged drink.

"I feel really sorry for Sandrine, that's something I never wanted ... I hope some day she'll forgive me," he said.

Guerriau said he got the MDMA from another senator, whom he refused to name, to help him as he was suffering from depression and anxiety.

He said he put some of the white powder in a glass meant for himself, but didn't take it. The next day, he offered the glass to Josso by mistake.

"Things happened very, very quickly. I did not think about it," he said, insisting he only realized later what had happened. He acknowledged "ignorance" about MDMA and "stupidity."

Guerriau remained in the Senate for almost two years after being charged despite political pressure to resign. He resigned in October, presenting the move as a political decision with no link to the legal proceedings.

As the trial started in a room packed with journalists and members of the general public, Josso appeared stressed and saddened during the reading by the chief judge of the conclusions of the investigation.

The investigation showed Guerriau searched for information online focusing on use of drugs, including ecstasy, in relation to rape, about a month before the incident.

A verdict is expected to be issued at a later date.

Less than a year after the senator's case broke out, France was rocked by Gisèle Pelicot's case, which put a worldwide spotlight on drug-facilitated sexual abuse.

Pelicot's ex-husband and 50 other men were convicted of sexually assaulting her while she was under chemical submission between 2011 and 2020 .

The harrowing and unprecedented trial exposed how pornography, chatrooms and men's indifference to - or hazy understanding of - consent is fueling rape culture.

However, even after the Pelicot trial, France is still just starting to reckon with such crimes.

Drugging a person to commit rape or sexual assault is punishable by up to 5 years in prison, compared to a maximum sentence of 10 years for drug possession.

Josso became a major figure in France's fight against drug-related sexual assault, joining an association set up by Gisèle Pelicot's daughter, Caroline Darian.

The lawmaker co-authored a parliamentary report about drug-facilitated sexual abuse which calls for "taking action against the scourge that was ignored for too long."

The report noted a lack of statistics and information on the phenomenon in the country and stressed authorities' failure to provide victims with efficient means to do blood and other analysis especially overnight and in remote areas.

In the wake of the Pelicot trial, France adopted a new law in October 2025 defining rape and other sexual assault as any non-consensual sexual act. Until then, rape was defined under French law as penetration or oral sex using "violence, coercion, threat or surprise."

In the United States, the Bill Cosby case that surfaced in 2014 raised public awareness about a pattern involving victims - mostly women - being offered pills or drinks, leading them to feel disoriented, semi-conscious or paralyzed.

Cosby, once known as "America's Dad," was convicted of sexual assault and imprisoned. However, in 2021, Pennsylvania's highest court threw out his conviction and ordered his release, in a stunning reversal of fortune. Cosby had previously been convicted of drugging and molesting a woman in 2004 at his home near Philadelphia.

Last month, British authorities charged a man with repeatedly drugging and raping a woman who is now his ex-wife. Five other men have been charged with sexual offenses against the same woman.

Philip Young, 49, has been charged with 56 offences over a 13-year period, including multiple counts of rape and administering a substance with intent to "stupefy" Joanne Young, 48, between 2010 and 2023, the Crown Prosecution Service and Wiltshire Police said.