Laura Laplaud
modified to
09:28, May 25, 2022
The new Minister of Solidarity, Autonomy and Disabled People is at the heart of a controversy. Accused of rape by two women, Damien Abad says he is innocent and assures that he will not resign. For Jean-Pierre Raffarin, guest of Europe Matin on Wednesday, “as long as there is no legal procedure, you should not resign.”
The new Minister of Solidarity, Autonomy and People with Disabilities, Damien Abad, accused of rape by two women, defended himself publicly on Monday afternoon and ruled out resigning. A case that poisons the beginnings of the new government of Elisabeth Borne, three weeks before the legislative elections. “For the moment the rule of law is the presumption of innocence,” launched the former Prime Minister, now president of the Foundation for Foresight and Innovation, Jean-Pierre Raffarin, on Europe 1 on Wednesday.
Can Damien Abad stay in government?
“As long as there is no legal procedure, one should not resign”, continued Jean-Pierre Raffarin. “It means other than on any person responsible, you can mount any manipulation operation, I’m not saying that the operation is manipulation and I’m not saying that the facts are not serious. On the contrary, the facts would be very serious if true. But until we have the truth, we have to be very, very careful.”
Guest of Europe Morning Tuesday, the president of the Hauts-de-France region, Xavier Bertrand, had told him that the head of state as well as Élisabeth Borne knew. They “appointed him knowingly,” he said.
“There is nothing more cruel than being accused of terrible crimes of this nature when you are innocent,” said Jean-Pierre Raffarin. The former Prime Minister reacted on social networks to the government’s announcement, writing: “A government of pros. The material is there, there remains the work.”