The Russian artist who dropped Macron's candidate in Paris was arrested
Piotr Pavlansky, who posted a mini-video that led Dominique Grievo to resign, is suspected of involvement in a violent melee. The affair was condemned from wall to wall, and the French president's ally filed a police complaint over privacy
The Russian artist who dropped Macron's candidate in Paris was arrested
Photo: ReutersFrench police on Saturday arrested the Russian activist who released the sex video that toppled President Emanuel Macron's ally. Piotr Pavlansky was arrested in Paris, but authorities say his suspicions are not related to the embarrassing video of Benzmin Gribo, who was Macron's mayor of Paris, but to a violent melee in December that also involved weapons.
The French news agency reported yesterday that Griebo had yesterday filed a complaint of "privacy intrusion" with police, and the Paris prosecution opened an investigation.
Pavlansky became famous for a series of provocative displays, the most notable of which was his testicles for Moscow's Red Square in 2013. He fled Russia and sought refuge in France after an investigation was launched against him on suspicion of sexual assault, which he defined as political persecution. He posted the video on a remote site to reveal Garibu's "hypocrisy" and it soon spread on social networks.
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To the full articleKnown for his provocations. Pavlanski cuts his ear in Moscow, 2014 (Photo: Reuters)
Russian artist Piotr Pavlanski blows his ear at a psychiatric center - Moscow, October 2014 (Photo: Reuters)
Griebo, who is married and a father of children, was previously the government spokesman. He was supported by politicians, from the extreme right to the extreme left, who warned of the consequences of the intrusion into the private lives of public figures for French democracy.
"It doesn't come to my family. Nobody should be hurt like that," he said Friday while announcing his retirement from the race next month. Following that, Macaron remained without a candidate for mayor of Paris, the most coveted of municipalities in the country.