Gisele P. (C) arrives at the courthouse during the trial of her husband accused of drugging her for nearly ten years and inviting strangers to rape her at their home in Mazan, a small town in the south of France, in Avignon, on September 2, 2024. Christophe Simon, AFP

AVIGNON, France -- A Frenchman being tried for recruiting strangers to rape his drugged wife will not speak in court as planned Tuesday because he is ill, a judge said, adding that he could temporarily suspend the trial if the plaintiff did not recover.

Dominique Pelicot, a 71-year-old retiree, has been on trial since last week for repeatedly raping and enlisting dozens of strangers to rape his heavily sedated wife in her own bed between 2011 and 2020.

Fifty other men, aged between 26 and 74, are also on trial for alleged involvement, in a case that has horrified France.

His ex-wife and victim Gisele Pelicot, 71, says she was troubled by strange memory lapses for years until police uncovered the abuse by chance after he was caught filming up women's skirts in a local supermarket.

The main accused, who had admitted to the charges against him, was to be questioned on Tuesday afternoon.

But on Monday he was excused from court over abdominal pain and on Tuesday morning was still in bad health, according to the presiding judge.

READ: French woman to testify on decade-long drug rape trauma

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"Medical staff took samples for analysis yesterday and do not have the results. Mr Pelicot is said to still be unwell. I will during the day request emergency care," he said, adding that he could be led to suspend the hearings for a few days if the main accused did not get better.

Experts on Monday had described Pelicot as a self-centered manipulator with no empathy and a split personality.

The main accused's lawyer Beatrice Zavarro had said that her client had been looking forward to "explaining" what he did.

The family's attorney Stephane Babonneau said it was "absolutely necessary that Mr Pelicot be treated medically and be able to attend the debates".

Gisele "Pelicot and her children do not wish to be heard without him being present," he added.

Until a decision on whether or not to suspend the trial, an investigator and an IT expert were to speak to the court on Tuesday.

Pelicot kept meticulous records of the abuse of his wife, discovered after police seized his computer and other equipment.

Most of the alleged rapes took place in the Pelicot home in Mazan, a village of 6,000 people in the southern region of Provence

His daughter Caroline Darian, 45, has said her life was "literally turned upside down" when she heard of the alleged abuse.

Naked photomontages of her had also been found on his computer.

The couple's two other sons are still due to speak.

© Agence France-Presse