Gisèle Pelicot was greeted by applause as she left court after her ex-husband and 50 other men were sentenced

• Gisèle Pelicot rape trial: husband jailed for 20 years as all 51 men found guilty

As Gisèle Pelicot walked down the steps of the Avignon courthouse at the end of the biggest rape trial in French history, hundreds of supporters who had travelled from across France and Europe burst into cheers and applause, chanting: “Thank you, Gisèle.”

Others stood with placards that read “shame has changed sides” in honour of her words, back in October, to explain why she was waiving her anonymity and facing down her rapists in court: “It’s not for us to have shame,” she said then. “It’s for them.”