Singer Patrick Bruel is in police custody in France over allegations by at least 13 women of rape, attempted rape and sexual assault.
Bruel, 67, has been in police custody since Monday. He denies the allegations.
The singer became a major star across the French-speaking world in the 1980s and 1990s with a string of hit songs.
He has also appeared in more than 40 film and TV productions.
The investigation began after three women accused Bruel of sexual assault and attempted rape allegedly committed in 1997, 2000 and 2001, the Nanterre prosecutor’s office said in a statement.
During the investigation, additional women were identified and interviewed.
They reported allegations of rape or attempted rape, sexual assault and harassment, according to the statement.
Separately, an investigation opened in western France over an alleged rape in 2012 in Dinard, in the Brittany region, was transferred to the Nanterre prosecutor’s office.
Belgian authorities also formally notified French prosecutors earlier this month of allegations by a woman who accused Bruel of rape and sexual assault allegedly committed in Brussels in 2010, according to the statement.
Bruel’s lawyers, Christophe Ingrain, Céline Lasek and Fanny Colin, said in a statement that the singer has indicated for several weeks “he was available to the judicial authorities so that he could finally respond through the proper legal proceedings.”
French judicial authorities could either file preliminary charges against Bruel or release him free of charges by the end of the day.
In recent weeks, a series of media reports, notably by French investigative website Mediapart, brought into public attention allegations by multiple women running over decades against Bruel, prompting additional complaints to be filed.
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