The Damien Abad affair once again puts Emmanuel Macron on the defensive

Still and always. Like the impression that history repeats itself. After a first five-year term during which he regularly found himself in difficulty on the question of women’s rights, Emmanuel Macron begins the second, being again on the defensive on this subject. While he affirmed, during the last presidential campaign, that he wanted to make equality between women and men the “great cause of his new five-year term”the Head of State is forced to settle an extremely sensitive case, only a month after his re-election: his new Minister for Solidarity, Autonomy and Disabled People, Damien Abad, can he remain in his post, despite the rape charges against him?

Read also: Damien Abad, former leader of Les Républicains deputies, appointed Minister for Solidarity, Autonomy and People with Disabilities

The question, thorny, weighs down the return of the government, which met for its first council of ministers, Monday, May 23, only three days after the announcement of its composition. To the point that Tuesday, May 24, several feminist organizations, including the Observatory of sexist and sexual violence in politics and the collective We all, call to demonstrate, in Paris against what they describe as “government of shame”.

In question: the appointment as minister of Damien Abad, despite the testimonies of two women, in an article published on Saturday by Mediapartwho accuse him of sexual violence in 2010 and 2011. On Monday, the former president of the group Les Républicains (LR) in the National Assembly once again refuted these attacks. “I have never raped a single woman in my life,” he declared from his stronghold of Ain, where he is a candidate for the legislative elections. Asked about a possible departure from the government, Mr. Abad launched to the press: “Should an innocent man resign? I do not believe. » Suffering from arthrogryposis, a rare disease that blocks his joints and reduces his mobility, he says his disability prevents him from committing such acts. So far, no conviction has been pronounced. Two complaints were dismissed in 2012 and 2017, but the courts say they are analyzing a new report.

Read also: Damien Abad “contests with the greatest force” accusations of rape, Elisabeth Borne affirms that “there can be no impunity”

“Justice is the only one who can decide”

Sufficient, in the eyes of the opposition, to justify his departure from the government. Monday morning, the boss of the Socialist Party, Olivier Faure, invited the Prime Minister, Elisabeth Borne, to separate from Mr. Abad because “The voice of women must be respected”. “Elisabeth Borne should tell him that he has no place”, abounded the ecologist Sandrine Rousseau. The case echoes the case of Taha Bouhafs, who withdrew his candidacy for La France insoumise (LFI) in the legislative elections before the existence of an internal investigation was revealed, after accusations of sexual violence.

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