He had driven fast to go home. Except that it was not just any motorist but a gendarme assigned to the Security Group of the Presidency of the Republic (GSPR), responsible for driving official vehicles. Monday, a former driver of Emmanuel Macron was convicted by the criminal court of Nanterre (Hauts-de-Seine) for "refusal to comply", reveals Mediapart.
This 44-year-old gendarme was fined 500 euros and suspended from his 4-month driving license. A decision following the requisitions of the prosecutor and which the accused immediately appealed.
The facts go back to last year. Almost a year ago today, on February 27, 2019, Stéphane P. was not in service when he abused the accelerator of this unmarked car in the President's park. After a long day, he had just dropped off Emmanuel Macron at the Elysée, around one in the morning, before returning to his home.
He used his beacon to burn red lights
It was to get home faster, maintains his lawyer, that the gendarme then drove at high speed behind the wheel of this Peugeot 107. He also used the beacon located at the front of the vehicle to burn several red lights.
It was at Sèvres (Hauts-de-Seine) that the car was spotted by a police patrol which chased it. The gendarme then refused to stop and sped at high speed on the N 118 in the direction of Yvelines.
He maintained in court that he had seen the police car but did not think he was concerned. "I did not have an injunction to stop," he said during the hearing, acknowledging, however, "excessive use" of the flashing light.
Still assigned to the Elysée, but no longer behind the wheel
If Stéphane P. had finally escaped from the police, one of the officers had managed to raise the vehicle's license plate. And entering it into the police database, he then discovered that it was a vehicle from the presidential palace.
Hauts-de-Seine Newsletter
Every morning, the news of your department seen by Le ParisienI'm registering
Your email address is collected by Le Parisien to allow you to receive our news and commercial offers. Find out more
Temporarily suspended after the facts, the gendarme is however still a member of the GSPR but has been assigned to missions which keep him away from the steering wheel of the presidential car.