PARIS (AP) — French singer and actor Patrick Bruel was handed preliminary charges of rape, attempted rape, sexual assault and sexual harassment of several women between 2008 and 2019 and released under strict judicial supervision, a prosecutor's office said Thursday.
Bruel, 67, denies the allegations.
He was brought Wednesday before four investigative judges at the court in Nanterre, in the western suburbs of Paris, following a two-day police custody.
The Nanterre prosecutor’s office said the formal investigation concerns allegations of rape in 2008 in Neuilly-sur-Seine, west of Paris, attempted rape in 2010 in Brussels, and sexual assault and sexual harassment in Perpignan, in southern France, and Ajaccio, Corsica, both in 2019.
The judicial investigation also continues into other allegations of rape, attempted rape and sexual harassment between 2010 and 2019 in three French cities and in Nyon, Switzerland, according to prosecutors.
Some allegations that had previously been dismissed without further action were reexamined and included in the case, the prosecutor’s office said.
Bruel was released under judicial supervision and barred from leaving France. He was ordered to surrender his passport, undergo psychological treatment and post bail of 500,000 euros ($576,760). He is also prohibited from contacting his accusers or members of their families and from entering massage parlors, where some of the alleged offenses are alleged to have occurred.
Bruel’s lawyers said in a statement the singer would cooperate fully with the investigation and remains available to the judicial authorities.
In recent weeks, a series of media reports, notably by French investigative website Mediapart, brought into public attention allegations by multiple women spanning several decades against Bruel, prompting additional complaints to be filed.
Prosecutors said accusations by other women that appear to be barred by the statute of limitations have nevertheless been attached to the case file so investigating judges can gain a broader understanding of the allegations. Complaints filed in other jurisdictions could later be added to the Nanterre investigation.
Bruel became one of the biggest stars in the French-speaking world in the late 1980s and 1990s. His popularity was so intense that French media coined the term “Bruelmania,” drawing comparisons with Beatlemania.
Hit songs from his 1989 second album have became part of French popular culture, addressing universal themes including love, heartbreak, nostalgia and childhood and bringing together generations of fans. Bruel later built a parallel acting career, appearing in dozens of film and television productions.
Last month he canceled all shows planned this summer in France, Canada, Switzerland and Belgium and at the end of the year in Canada.
FILE - Actor-singer Patrick Bruel appears on the red carpet for the film "Promises" at the 16th edition of the Rome Film Fest in Rome, on Oct. 17, 2021. (AP Photo/Domenico Stinellis, File)
FILE - French singer Patrick Bruel attends the official presentation of Paris as a candidate for the 2024 Olympic summer games in Paris, France, on Feb. 17, 2016. (AP Photo/Francois Mori, File)
FILE - French singer Patrick Bruel performs during the Victoires de la Musique awards ceremony in Paris on March 10, 2007. (AP Photo/Jacques Brinon, File)
LONDON (AP) — U.K. Defense Secretary John Healey unexpectedly quit on Thursday, saying the government is unwilling to spend enough on the military at a time of “rising threats.” The resignation dealt another blow to embattled Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who is already facing demands from Labour colleagues to step down.
Healey told Starmer in a letter that the government’s Defense Investment Plan falls “well short of what is required at this dangerous time.”
Publication of the plan has been delayed amid reports of disagreement between the Defense Ministry and the Treasury.
Starmer has pledged to boost U.K. defense spending to 2.5% of gross domestic product by 2027 and 3% by 2035. But many in the military say that isn't fast enough.
“You have been unable, and the Treasury has been unwilling, to commit the resources that the nation needs to defend the country at this time of rising threats,” Healey wrote in his resignation letter.
He said that the spending plan put forward by the Treasury, and presented to him on Monday, would see defense spending rise to just 2.68% in 2030, after hitting 2.6% next year.
Healey said that isn't enough with growing demands on defense and British military commitments, citing the Iran war, Russia's all-out invasion of Ukraine and threats from Moscow.
“I am now left with no other option than to submit my resignation,” he said.
Gen. Richard Barrons, who helped lead a defense review that underpins the investment plan, said the government is “actively going backwards” by refusing to fund its own review.
“It diminishes the U.K.’s standing within NATO, weakens our credibility with allies, and increases our vulnerability to the realities of 21st century conflict,” he said. “Allies and adversaries alike will be paying attention.”
The government said it was delivering “the largest sustained boost to defense spending since the Cold War.”
“This country is safer because of the decisions Keir Starmer has made and we will continue to act in our national interest,” it said in a statement.
Healey has been U.K. defense secretary since the Labour Party government was elected in July 2024, and he's regarded as a capable and serious minister.
He has played a key role in bolstering international support for Ukraine and assembling a multinational coalition to help guarantee security if a ceasefire is reached. Healey also has helped spearhead a maritime security force that would help keep the Strait of Hormuz open to shipping if the Iran war ends.
The United Kingdom and other NATO member nations have faced pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump to increase military spending. Trump has long questioned the value of the military alliance and complained that the United States provides security to European countries that don’t pull their weight.
The U.K. military is also seeking to reverse years of decline in the face of an increasingly assertive Russia, which fully invaded its neighbor Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, and increasingly tests the defenses of European nations with overt and covert activity.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, informed of Healey's resignation by The Associated Press during a news conference in Brussels, said that Healey is someone “I respect very much.”
“What we are seeing all over the alliance is countries increasing their defense investments, and of course it is not easy, because in the end there is always a trade-off with other expenses, which are also important,” Rutte said.
Healey’s resignation is likely to further stoke talk that Starmer’s days as prime minister are numbered. Already bruised by a series of missteps since Labour returned to power less than two years ago, Starmer has faced calls within his party’s ranks to stand down.
In a sign of his waning authority, Starmer appears to have been unable to bridge the gap between Healey’s department and Treasury chief Rachel Reeves over defense spending.
Olivia O’Sullivan, head of the U.K. in the World program at the Chatham House think tank, said the resignation “significantly undermines Starmer,” especially since the prime minister has had “a relatively assured track record on defense and foreign affairs.”
Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham is widely expected to challenge Starmer for the leadership, if he returns to Parliament in a June 18 special election.
Justin Crump, a former British tank commander who heads security consultancy Sibylline, said Healey's resignation “should not have been allowed to occur in a well-run government.”
“It just further underlines a lack of control here, a lack of clarity, a lack of resolution, a gap between words and delivery,” he said.
Associated Press journalists Mark Carlson in Brussels and Pan Pylas in London contributed to this report.
FILE - Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer, left, looks on as Defence Secretary John Healey speaks to apprentices and representatives in the defence industry, during a careers fair inside 10 Downing Street in central London, Monday March 3, 2025. (Adrian Dennis/Pool via AP, File)
Defence Secretary John Healey walks into the press conference following the AUKMIN Summit, at Lancaster House in London, Wednesday, June 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, Pool)
Britain's Defence Secretary John Healey listens Australia's Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong at a press conference following the AUKMIN Summit, at Lancaster House in London, Wednesday, June 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, Pool)
John Healey, Britain's Minister of Defense arrives for a cabinet meeting inside 10 Downing Street in London, Tuesday, June 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)
