麻豆传媒映画

Gis猫le Pelicot鈥檚 case against Paris Match magazine for invasion of privacy has underlined key differences in privacy laws between France and the United Kingdom and United States.

In April, the weekly gossip magazine released seven pictures of Ms Pelicot, who was repeatedly and covertly drugged and raped by her husband Dominique Pelicot in a case that made headlines around the world.

The Paris Match photographs show her wandering around streets in 卯le de R茅 (Charente-Maritime) with a man presented as her new boyfriend.

Photographs taken in public spaces are not protected by privacy laws in the UK unless they are deemed 鈥渋ndecent鈥�. Likewise, a pavement is not considered part of 鈥榬easonable expectation of privacy鈥� defined in the privacy protections of the US Fourth Amendment.

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Privacy rights

In France, however, the laws are different and the case straddles two of the country鈥檚 fundamental rights: droit 脿 l'image (image reproduction right or copyright) and droit 脿 l鈥檌nformation (right to information).

鈥淭he issues at play include consent and free will. Both of these fundamental principles were breached by Paris Match, stripping her right to control what she decides to be of public interest about her private life,鈥� said Antoine Camus and St茅phane Babonneau, the two lawyers representing Ms Pelicot in the complaint.

鈥淭here is no written law on droit 脿 l'image. It encompasses the notion of respect for private life, which is part of Article 9 of the Civil code,鈥� said Alexandre Blondieau, a lawyer who specialises in intellectual property, media and business law at Cabinet d'avocats Blondieau Robert-Gary in Paris.

Droit 脿 l'image is protected by consent. In France, pictures taken in public spaces need to be approved by the person who is photographed.

Yet droit 脿 l'image is often in opposition to droit 脿 l鈥檌nformation (right to information).

鈥淛udges constantly balance these two rights,鈥� said Tewfik Bouzenoune, a Paris lawyer who specialises in media rights.

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Feminist icon

Dominique Pelicot was convicted of rape, and 50 other defendants found guilty of rape, attempted rape, or sexual assault in December 2024. He kept hundreds of videos of the attacks on his computer in a file entitled 鈥渁buse鈥�.

Ms Pelicot became a feminist icon by waiving her right to anonymity during the trial and was listed among Time鈥檚 100 most influential people of 2025.

Paris Match could argue that, considering the intense public interest Ms Pelicot attracts, the photographs fall into droit 脿 l鈥檌nformation and that they were simply exercising their rights.

However, droit 脿 l鈥檌nformation requires two conditions to be met. Firstly, the photographs must preserve the person鈥檚 dignity (respect de la dignit茅). 

Secondly, they should not be used for commercial purposes.

The fact the pictures were published in the magazine ultimately contravenes the latter.

Ms Pelicot is asking for 鈧�30,000 in compensation and that the court鈥檚 decision be published on the magazine鈥檚 front page, according to Agence France-Presse. The case will be heard on June 11.

鈥淢ost of the time celebrities win their trials because a person鈥檚 love life is considered private,鈥� said Maitre Blondieau. 鈥淏ut there are cases where the right to information can outweigh droit 脿 l鈥檌mage,鈥� he added.

鈥淐an details of Ms Pelicot鈥檚 new relationship be considered in the public interest in the wake of what she faced? Does it show resilience? That she is getting her life back?鈥� Maitre Bouzenoune said.

鈥淭hat could be one of Paris Match鈥檚 defence arguments.鈥�

Publication of such pictures is often a calculated risk for gossip publications, whether they are punished or not.

鈥淭hese companies know what they are doing,鈥� Mr Bouzenoune said.

 Compensation to victims is often lower than the amount generated from sales.