A former surgeon is set to stand trial in France for the alleged rape or sexual abuse of 299 victims. Most of them were children who were his patients.

A former surgeon is going on trial in France for the rape and sexual abuse of 299 victims over a period spanning more than three decades.

The white-haired 74-year-old, who wore glasses and a black zip-up sweater over a grey shirt, was addressing the court in Vannes, north-west France, on the first day of the largest child abuse trial in French history.