Europe 1 with AFP
modified to
11:22 a.m., September 13, 2022
The Republicans have announced that they are launching a procedure for the exclusion of the party against the mayor of Saint-Etienne Gaël Perdriau. Mayor LR is “currently being heard at his request in Lyon” with members of his cabinet, “so that the truth comes out” in the face of accusations of political blackmail targeting him, his first deputy Jean-Pierre Bergé told the press on Tuesday. .
The interim president of the Republicans Annie Genevard on Tuesday launched an exclusion procedure against the mayor of Saint-Etienne Gaël Perdriau, accused of “aggravated blackmail” by his former first deputy Gilles Artigues after revelations from Mediapart on alleged pressures at the sextape. This exclusion “will soon be validated by the political office of the party”, specified LR in a press release, while the mayor of Saint-Etienne is currently “hearing” by the police in Lyon with members of his cabinet within the framework of this investigation.
“Methods unworthy of an elected representative of the Republic”
LR recalls that the former vice-president of the Republicans had been dismissed from his post in December 2021 by Christian Jacob, after his comments critical of Valérie Pécresse and Eric Ciotti. “If it is now up to justice, in view of the latest revelations on Monday, to decide on the guilt and the degree of involvement of Gaël Perdriau, the Republicans can only condemn the despicable methods used by the mayor of Saint -Etienne against a political rival”, explains LR to justify this exclusion.
“These methods are unworthy of an elected representative of the Republic and such acts are totally contrary to the values carried and defended by Les Républicains in the public debate”, added LR. The Lyon public prosecutor’s office opened a judicial investigation into this case at the beginning of September concerning the filming and use of a sexual video recorded in 2014 while Gilles Artigues, former first municipal deputy and former deputy known for his Catholic commitment. , was being massaged by a man in a hotel room in Paris.
“Let the Truth Speak”
This investigation for “invasion of privacy, aggravated blackmail, embezzlement of public property by a person in charge of a public function, breach of trust and concealment of these offenses” was launched after a complaint from Gilles Artigues, specifically targeting the mayor, one of his deputies and the lover of this deputy.
The Mediapart news site, which had revealed the affair by publishing detailed confessions of the deputy’s lover on a “marbling of morals” in Saint-Etienne, posted damning recordings online on Monday for the elected official of 50 years old and his chief of staff. Gaël Perdriau is “currently auditioning at his request in Lyon” with the members of his cabinet, “so that the truth comes out”, declared his first deputy Jean-Pierre Bergé on Tuesday to the press.