Thailand's slumping economy is new leader Paetongtarn's focus in her first parliamentary speech

BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand’s new Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra vowed Thursday in her inaugural speech to Parliament to continue many of her predecessor’s plans to solve the country’s economic woes.

Paetongtarn, the leader of the ruling Pheu Thai Party and daughter of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, took office last month after a court ousted Srettha Thavisin from his post over an accusation that he had violated an ethics law by appointing a Cabinet member who had served time in prison in connection with a bribery case.

Pheu Thai formed a government headed by Srettha after members of the conservative Senate refused to endorse the prime minister nominated by the progressive Move Forward Party, which won the most seats in last year’s general election.

Thailand is facing several economic challenges and Paetongtarn said Thursday her government will urgently address the issues of high household debt, the rising cost of living and lagging incomes “to bring the hope of Thai people back as soon as possible."

Among the government’s more immediate plans are measures to relieve household debt and reduce the rising cost of electricity, petrol and transport, as well as to boost tourism and bring new technologies to the agricultural sector, she said.

Paetongtarn said the government will generate new income by legalizing and taxing the “informal economy” and the “underground economy.” Although she provided no details, it was an apparent reference to plans to legalize casinos, which are being promoted as “entertainment complexes” that can attract revenue windfalls.

The draft of the law, sponsored by the Finance Ministry, says a casino would be allowed to operate within a complex that also houses other businesses such as a hotel, a convention hall, a mall or a theme park. Access to casinos will be restricted to those younger than 20 years old. They will be open for foreigners, while Thai citizens must pay 5,000 baht ($148) for an entrance fee, according to the draft.

She said the government will protect small businesses from unfair competition from foreign operators, especially on online platforms. Industry groups in Thailand have expressed increasing concern about an influx of cheap products from China that they say have hurt sales by domestic producers.

Paetongtarn said she will carry out Srettha’s 10,000-baht ($296) digital cash handout program, although details in her speech were sparse. Officials from her administration have said the “Digital Wallet” program, initially promised during last year’s election campaign to give cash handouts to all Thais aged 16 and older, will now prioritize vulnerable low-income groups. They are set to be paid a lump sum this month or by October, while others who are eligible may be paid in installments starting later this year.

In a shift from Srettha, who had vowed to make cannabis illegal again, Paetongtarn said her administration will support medical cannabis as a way to boost the economy, with regulations added to mitigate its social impact. Cannabis was decriminalized in Thailand in 2022, intended only for medicinal use, but in practice the market is virtually unregulated and there was a proliferation of retail shops catering to recreational users.

Fears of drug abuse, especially among young people, as well as concerns about health, prompted a public backlash, and during last year’s election campaign Paetongtarn’s Pheu Thai, along with other parties, pledged to restore measures to ban the drug. However, the government in July suddenly signaled it was backtracking from that pledge.

Paetongtarn said her government in the longer term will also address climate change, improve the quality of education and the universal healthcare system, and tackle political instability by drafting a more democratic constitution and reforming the bureaucratic system and the military.

The results of Thailand’s elections last year revealed a strong mandate for change after nearly a decade under military control. Reforms to the military — a powerful political player that has staged two coups since 2006 — were part of Pheu Thai's campaign platform, although it hedged the pledge significantly after it took power and formed a government with pro-military parties.

Paetongtarn’s rise to power, which made her the country’s youngest leader and second female prime minister, represents the revival of the embattled political dynasty that began with her father Thaksin, a billionaire telecoms tycoon, who was elected prime minister in 2001 but ousted by a military coup in 2006.

She is the third close member of the Shinawatra clan to take the prime minister’s job. Thaksin’s sister, Yingluck Shinawatra, was Thailand’s first female prime minister from 2011 to 2014. An in-law, Somchai Wongsawat, also served briefly as prime minister in 2008.

Thaksin remains a highly influential political figure and is seen as a de facto leader of Pheu Thai. His apparent dominance over the party has triggered controversy, including a petition to the Election Commission accusing Pheu Thai of allowing an outsider to control it, which could result in the party’s dissolution.

After Thaksin was ousted in 2006, the military joined hands with other conservative forces in Thai society to try to thwart a comeback of his political machine. Thaksin’s ouster triggered years of struggle between his supporters and his opponents, in the streets, in the courts and at the ballot box.

Thailand's Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra makes the policy statement at parliament in Bangkok, Thailand, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Leader of People's Party, Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut asks a question after Thailand's Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra makes the policy statement at parliament in Bangkok, Thailand, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Thailand's Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra makes the policy statement at parliament in Bangkok, Thailand, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Thailand's Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra makes the policy statement at parliament in Bangkok, Thailand, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Thailand's Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra makes the policy statement at parliament in Bangkok, Thailand, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024.(AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Thailand's Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra arrives before making the policy statement at parliament in Bangkok, Thailand, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai, left, and Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra greets to lawmaker before making the policy statement at parliament in Bangkok, Thailand, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. Paetongtarn appeared Parliament for the first time to lay out how her government envisions to improve the country (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai, left, talks to Thailand's Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra before making the policy statement at parliament in Bangkok, Thailand, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. Paetongtarn appeared Parliament for the first time to lay out how her government envisions to improve the country. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Thailand's Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra reads the policy statement at parliament in Bangkok, Thailand, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. Paetongtarn appeared Parliament for the first time to lay out how her government envisions to improve the country. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

AVIGNON, France (AP) — A 71-year-old French man admitted in court Tuesday that for nearly a decade, he repeatedly drugged his unwitting wife and invited dozens of men to rape her while she lay unconscious in their bed.

His wife of 50 years, who has divorced him since his arrest, also got to speak, telling the court that she feels completely betrayed.

In a trial that has gripped France and raised awareness about sexual violence in the home and beyond, Dominique Pélicot told the court that he also raped his wife, Gisèle Pélicot, and that the 50 men standing trial alongside him understood exactly what they were doing.

“Today I maintain that, along with the other men here, I am a rapist,″ Dominique Pélicot testified. “They knew everything. They can’t say otherwise.”

Pélicot’s testimony marked the most important moment yet in a trial that has shocked the world. Although he previously confessed to investigators, his court testimony will be crucial for the panel of judges to decide on the fate of his co-defendants, who range in age from 26 to 74. Many of them deny having raped Gisèle Pélicot, saying her then-husband had manipulated them or that they believed she was consenting.

Many following the case also hope his testimony might help explain why Dominique Pélicot would subject the mother of his three children to such unconscionable abuse.

Gisèle Pélicot has become a hero to many rape victims and a symbol of the fight against sexual violence in France for agreeing to waive her anonymity in the case, letting the trial be public and appearing openly in front of the media. She shows up every day, passing through the courthouse security line behind men accused of raping her. As she left court during a break Tuesday, supporters brought her flowers.

After days of delay due to what his lawyers said was a kidney stone and urinary tract infection, Dominique Pélicot, seated in a wheelchair, testified that the charges against him are true. With his ex-wife looking on from the packed gallery and his voice trembling and barely audible at times, he started a long day of testimony trying to explain childhood traumas that he said scarred and molded him into the person he became.

“One is not born a pervert, one becomes a pervert,” Pélicot told the judges after recounting, sometimes in tears, being raped by a male hospital nurse at age 9 and being forced to take part in a gang rape at age 14.

Pélicot also said that for years, his father sexually abused a young girl his family had taken in, and that his brother later said their father had invited other men to do the same.

He regretted that his parents didn't let him continue his studies after he turned 14. He said that around that time, he tried to persuade his mother to leave the house with him, but “she never wanted to.”

“I don’t really want to talk about this, I am just ashamed of my father. In the end, I didn’t do any better,'' said Pélicot, who faces 20 years in prison if convicted.

After he spoke about his difficult upbringing, Gisèle Pélicot was given the opportunity to address the court.

“It is hard for me to hear this. For 50 years, I lived with a man. I couldn’t imagine even one second that he could have committed acts of rape,″ she said. “I trusted this man entirely.″

The two looked at each other, him from behind the dock’s glass window and her from the witness stand.

“I am guilty,” he told her. “I regret everything I did. I ask you for forgiveness, even if it is unpardonable.”

Asked if she wanted to respond, Gisèle Pélicot turned and left the stand.

When asked about his feelings toward his ex-wife, Dominique Pélicot said she didn't deserve what he did.

“From my youth, I remember only shocks and traumas, forgotten partly thanks to her,” he said in tears.

At that moment, Gisèle Pélicot put on her sunglasses.

Later, Dominique Pélicot said, “I was crazy about her. She replaced everything. I ruined everything.”

A supermarket security guard caught Pélicot in 2020 secretly shooting video up women’s skirts, according to court documents. During a search of his house and electronic devices, police found thousands of photos and videos of men engaging in sexual acts with Gisèle Pélicot while she appeared to be unconscious in bed.

With the recordings, police were able to track down most of the 72 suspects they were seeking, but not all.

In addition to the photos and videos of Gisèle Pélicot, investigators found photos of the Pelicots' daughter, Caroline Darian, and two daughters-in-law that were surreptitiously taken while they were in their underwear, getting undressed or taking showers, according to authorities.

While her mother has stayed remarkably calm throughout the trial, Darian walked out of the courtroom Tuesday as her father was being asked about photos of her that were found on his laptop.

″Excuse me, I’m going to vomit,″ she said angrily before rushing out. She has written a book about what happened to her family, called ″And I Stopped Calling you Daddy.″

After retiring, the Pélicots moved from the Paris region to a house in Mazan, a small town in the Provence region.

When police officers called Gisèle Pélicot in for questioning in late 2020, she initially told them her husband was “a great guy,″ according to legal documents. They then showed her some photos. She left and later divorced her husband.

Since Dominique Pélicot’s arrest, other cases have surfaced. He was fined after being caught shooting video of a women’s crotch in 2010 and required to see a psychologist. Gisèle Pélicot has said she never knew about this incident.

Under French law, the proceedings inside the courtroom cannot be filmed or photographed. Dominique Pélicot has been brought into the court through a special entrance that's inaccessible for the media, because he and some other defendants are being held in custody during the trial and can't be filmed. Defendants who are not in custody have been arriving at the courthouse wearing surgical masks or hoods to avoid having their faces filmed or photographed.

Among those hoping to secure a seat to watch the Tuesday's proceedings was Bernadette Tessonière, a 69-year-old retiree who lives a half-hour drive from Avignon, where the trial is taking place.

“How is it possible that in 50 years of communal life, one can live next to someone who hides his life so well? This is scary,” she said.

Gisele Pelicot arrives at the Avignon court house, in Avignon, southern France, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. Her ex-husband admitted in court that for nearly a decade, he repeatedly drugged his unwitting wife and invited dozens of men to rape her while she lay unconscious. (AP Photo/Diane Jantet)

Gisele Pelicot arrives at the Avignon court house, in Avignon, southern France, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. Her ex-husband admitted in court that for nearly a decade, he repeatedly drugged his unwitting wife and invited dozens of men to rape her while she lay unconscious. (AP Photo/Diane Jantet)

Gisele Pelicot exits the Avignon court house, in Avignon, southern France, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024, after her ex-husband admitted in court that for nearly a decade, he repeatedly drugged his unwitting wife and invited dozens of men to rape her while she lay unconscious. (AP Photo/Diane Jantet)

FILE - Police officers walk in the Avignon court house prior to the trial of Dominique Pelicot, in Avignon, southern France, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Lewis Joly, File)

FILE - Gisele Pelicot speaks to media as she leaves the Avignon court house, southern France, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Lewis Joly, File)

FILE - Gisele Pelicot, left, arrives in the Avignon court house, in Avignon, southern France, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Lewis Joly, File)

FILE - Gisele Pelicot, left, arrives in the Avignon court house, in Avignon, southern France, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Lewis Joly, File)