Emmanuel Macron had not spoken since the testimonies of several women implicating Nicolas Hulot.
This Wednesday, December 1 in the morning, in the secrecy of the Council of Ministers, the Head of State has, according to our information, and for the first time, delivered his impression after the dissemination of the resounding investigation of "Special Envoy" on France 2, last Thursday, in which the former host and former Minister of Ecological Transition is accused of sexual violence.
"It is necessary that the word is freed and it is very good that it is freed", thus pointed out, according to statements reported by several participants, the President of the Republic in the introduction of the Council of Ministers, whereas, since these revelations, other women have also decided to provide their testimonies targeting Nicolas Hulot.
"We don't want an Inquisition society either"
But Emmanuel Macron also warned: "Justice is not done in the media, not in the media courts".
A message of vigilance that several relatives translate as an attachment of the tenant of the Élysée to three principles: "Support and ease of listening, presumption of innocence and independent and rigorous work of justice".
“The government's position on this subject is constant.
We will never accept a society of opacity or complacency.
And we do not want a society of the Inquisition either, continued Emmanuel Macron in front of members of the government.
So the challenge is to facilitate and support the release of speech, the collection of complaints, the efficiency of justice.
We have done a lot for this and we will continue to act resolutely in this direction.
"
Since the case broke, the executive has been criticized several times for appearing embarrassed on this issue.
Like Marlène Schiappa, who has since struggled to abandon the support she had displayed for the former favorite host of the French when the first charges were dropped in 2018.
"The worst casting error of this five-year term"
"There are additional testimonies which are added, which were not known at the time", defended for his part Gabriel Attal on BFMTV the day after the broadcast of the investigation.
“Hulot was a drag when he was minister.
It still is today.
It was the worst casting error of this five-year term, "cowardly, exasperated, a heavy minister.
In its edition to be published this Thursday, the weekly Paris Match also delivers new testimonies, including that of the daughter of a "former minister of the Jospin government".
Even before the revelations of France 2, Nicolas Hulot had defended himself the day before by denying all the accusations altogether.
Last Friday, the Paris prosecutor's office opened a preliminary investigation, without a complaint having been filed.
At least six women, including a minor at the time of the facts, implicate him on facts which are nevertheless today prescribed by justice.