One of more than 50 men accused of raping Frenchwoman Gisele Pelicot in a mass rape case that has shocked the world told her in court on Thursday that he was sorry for what he did.

The mayor of the French town where a man for over a decade brought strangers to rape his wife apologised on Friday for remarks that were criticised for playing down the ordeal of the victim.

Dominique Pelicot is charged with orchestrating the assault of his wife Gisèle Pelicot, drugging and offering her to a stream of men he met in a chatroom and filming the repeated rapes.

Dominique Pelicot admitted to drugging his wife and recruiting dozens of strangers to rape her over nearly a decade, begging for his family's forgiveness, as he told a French court on Tuesday: "I am a rapist.

Video of men allegedly raping a drugged Frenchwoman will not be shown at their trial to the public or journalists, the judge in the case ruled Friday.

One of dozens of men accused of raping a Frenchwoman drugged unconscious by her husband told a court Thursday he realised something was wrong during their encounter that he now

Frenchwoman Gisele Pelicot, whose ex-husband allegedly drugged her and let dozens of strangers rape her, was greeted with applause as she arrived in court in Avignon, France. Dominique Pelicot admitted to orchestrating multiple rapes of his wife over nearly a decade during his testimony.

The trial of dozens of men accused of raping an unconscious woman whose husband repeatedly drugged her has highlighted the difficulties that sexual violence victims can face in France

A French judge on Friday ruled that videos of men raping Gisele Pelicot while she was drugged could be shown at the request of the prosecution or defence, but not as a matter of course due to the