**French Actor Patrick Bruel Accused of Attempted Rape and Sexual Assault** Daniela Elstner, managing director of French cinema and TV export agency Unifrance, has filed a police complaint against French actor and singer Patrick Bruel, alleging attempted rape and sexual assault. The incident is said to have occurred in 1997 during the French Film Festival in Acapulco, Mexico, where Bruel was promoting the French thriller *K*. Elstner, who was 26 years old and working as an assistant at Unifrance at the time, claims that Bruel assaulted her after pushing her into a VIP car and forcing himself on her. According to Elstner, who spoke to *Mediapart*, Bruel kissed and fondled her as she protested, and later bundled her into his room. However, she managed to escape after much struggling and screaming. Elstner's account of the incident is corroborated by a second woman who has lodged a complaint for rape against Bruel, alleging that he assaulted her during the Dinard British Film Festival in 2012, where he was president of the jury. Mediapart reported that Elstner's complaint is one of eight allegations of sexual violence against Bruel, made by women who claim to have been assaulted between 1992 and 2019. The allegations include complaints lodged by women working as masseuses in luxury spas across France, which were dismissed due to lack of evidence in 2019. Bruel's lawyer, Christophe Ingrain, has denied all allegations against his client, stating that Bruel "never forced anyone into a sexual act or relationship" and "never overruled a refusal." Elstner's decision to file a police complaint comes despite the statute of limitations for the alleged crimes having expired. Speaking to *Mediapart*, Elstner's lawyer, Jade Dousselin, said that her client made the "painful and significant decision" to file an official complaint, driven by a desire for "liberation" rather than seeking condemnation.