French singer Patrick Bruel in police custody over alleged sexual assaults

French singer and actor Patrick Bruel is in police custody over allegations by at least 13 women of rape, attempted rape and sexual assault, the prosecutor’s office in Nanterre said on Tuesday.

Mr Bruel, 67, who has been in police custody since Monday, 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 that became part of French popular culture. He has also appeared in more than 40 film and television productions.

The Nanterre prosecutor’s office said in a statement that the investigation began after three women accused Mr Bruel of sexual assault and attempted rape allegedly committed in 1997, 2000 and 2001.

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 Mr Bruel of rape and sexual assault allegedly committed in Brussels in 2010, according to the statement.

Mr Bruel’s lawyers, Christophe Ingrain, Celine Lasek and Fanny Colin said in a statement 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 Mr 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 Mr Bruel, prompting additional complaints to be filed.