Hundreds of people, mostly women, gathered in cities around France on Saturday in support of Gisele Pelicot, a woman whose husband is on trial, accused of drugging her and recruiting dozens of strangers to rape her over nearly a decade in a case that has shocked the nation.

The French woman who was allegedly drugged by her now ex-husband and raped by dozens of men while unconscious is becoming a symbol of the nation's fight against sexual violence.

Nearly every day since 2 September, Gisèle Pelicot has been at the centre of a trial in which 51 men are accused of raping her, including the man she was married to for 50 years. As her story has rippled through France since the trial began, she has become a symbol of courage and resilience.