I feel really bad for him and his family because he was a really nice guy,” he recalled, as he served coffee from behind the bar.

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.

Given the option to remain anonymous, she chose instead to be seen in order for the burden and shame of sexual violence to be shifted to the rapists.

Hundreds of people, mostly women, gathered in cities around France on Saturday in support of Gisele Pelicot, a woman whose husband is on trial, accused of drugging her and recruiting dozens of strangers to rape her over nearly a decade in a case that has shocked the nation.

During a hearing at York Crown Court, both men pleaded not guilty to the charge, with a trial date set for 17 February. Mr Khan, of Thorpe Lane, Cawood, and Mr Zahir, of Roseberry Street, York, have been remanded in custody ahead of their next appearance.

Hundreds of women gathered across France to support Gisèle Pelicot, a woman at the center of a mass rape trial that has shocked the nation. Demonstrations took place in cities like Paris, where protesters stood in solidarity with Pelicot,