French pop icon Patrick Bruel was charged with rape and sexual assault on Wednesday, after nearly two dozen women came forward to make allegations against him, some dating back to the 1990s.
The 67-year-old, a major figure in French popular culture with several top‑selling albums and dozens of film appearances, has denied any wrongdoing.
He is the latest top French celebrity to face investigators in the wake of the #MeToo movement, after film legend Gerard Depardieu was handed a suspended 18-month prison sentence last year for sexually assaulting two women on a film set.
Bruel, a heartthrob whose face was plastered on teen magazines in the early 1990s, has spent 48 hours in custody after being held for questioning on Monday.
A judge in the Paris suburb of Nanterre said Bruel was charged with rape, attempted rape, sexual assault and sexual harassment.
