French singer Patrick Bruel under formal investigation for rape

One of France's best-known showbusiness stars, Patrick Bruel, has been placed under judicial investigation on several counts of rape and sexual abuse, in the latest fallout from the Me Too movement.

After two days in custody in the western Paris suburb of Nanterre, the 67-year-old singer and actor went before a panel of four judges on Wednesday evening.

They confirmed the state prosecutor's request that Bruel be placed under investigation in several cases of rape, attempted rape and sexual assault and harassment.

Bruel has consistently denied the charges against him. The judges released him from custody under judicial supervision, rejecting a request from prosecutors that he remain in detention.

Being placed under investigation means that an examining magistrate will now look more deeply into the charges against Bruel, whose lawyers will have access to the prosecution file.

Of the nine alleged offences put forward by prosecutors, the judges formally moved ahead on four counts of rape, sexual assault and sexual harassment.

The rape allegation dates back to 2008, a case of alleged attempted rape to 2010 and the other two charges to 2019.

Under French law, rape is defined as "any non-consensual act of penetration".

The singer has been told he cannot leave French territory, cannot contact alleged victims or family members and must not visit massage parlours, as one allegation of sexual harassment involves a massage in Corsica.

The case against Bruel comes at a time of heightened sensitivity in France about judicial treatment of sex offences, after the murder of an 11-year-old girl called Lyhanna, whose suspected killer had been the object of several prior denunciations for abuse.

Alongside actor Gérard Depardieu, Bruel is the most celebrated French figure to be targeted by accusations of sexual abuse.

Depardieu, 77, was given a suspended sentence last year for sexual assault on a film set, and he has appealed against the conviction.

Born Patrick Benguigui in Algeria in 1959, Bruel rose to fame in the early 1980s with songs like Marre de cette nana-là (Had enough of that chick). His strong voice and dark, brooding looks led to a wave what was termed at the time Bruelmania.

He has also appeared in more than 30 films, and was recently on stage in a theatre production in Paris.

Bruel's last performances there were cancelled because of the allegations, as were most dates on a planned concert tour of France, Belgium, Switzerland and Canada. This will now definitively not take place.

The singer was the object of a previous series of complaints for se