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France's Green leader Julien Bayou
Photo: Ludovic Marin / AFP
An ex-partner raises allegations against the party leader of the French Greens – he is said to have used physical violence.
Now Julien Bayou has given up his post.
Bayou announced that he was stepping down as general secretary of the Europe Ecologie-les Verts (EELV) party and as parliamentary group leader.
Since the allegations were not clearly presented to him, he could not defend himself.
This is an "unsustainable situation," Bayou wrote in his resignation statement.
Exactly what Bayou is accused of is unclear.
There had already been an internal complaint against the EELV Secretary General in July, which initially had no legal consequences.
Last week, Green MP Sandrine Rousseau claimed on a TV show that the party leader had urged a former partner to attempt suicide.
The Greens are the second party within the left-wing opposition alliance Nupes to come under pressure over alleged violence against women.
In mid-September, the left-wing populist MP Adrien Quatennens publicly admitted to having beaten his wife and announced his resignation from the party leadership.
His wife had previously reported him to the police.
»A system that protects attackers«
This case attracted all the more attention because party leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon initially praised his confidante for his courage in publicly speaking without saying a word about the woman.
More than 500 women, some of them members of left-wing parties, subsequently signed an appeal.
They protested against "a system that protects attackers."
Mélenchon later admitted that his reaction was inappropriate.
However, the left-wing alliance continues to debate how to deal with allegations of sexual violence against women within its own ranks.
The Alliance Nupes includes left-wing populists, communists, socialists and greens.
She had achieved a surprisingly good result in the parliamentary elections in June.
According to polls, however, 63 percent of left-wing sympathizers are convinced that the alliance will collapse.
mrc/AFP/dpa