Special envoy to Saint-Étienne
Gaël Perdriau held firm.
The mayor of Saint-Étienne, cited since the end of August in a sextape blackmail case on his former centrist first deputy Gilles Artigues, chaired a most agitated municipal council on Monday, September 26.
“
Under no circumstances can the municipal council turn into a court
,” hammered the elected official at the opening of the session in front of members of the majority demanding his withdrawal.
Read alsoSextape blackmail: why the town hall of Saint-Etienne is in turmoil
The city councilor, who was expelled from the LR party, continues to deny any involvement in the filming of a video where we see Gilles Artigues being massaged by a man in a hotel room in Paris, in January 2015. Accusation which earned him to be placed in police custody in mid-September, with his chief of staff and one of his assistants, after the confessions of a former close to the town hall on the Mediapart site.
According to this man, the mayor and his entourage would have set up this trap by paying him via fictitious services invoiced to two cultural associations subsidized by the town hall.
Gaël Perdriau denied on Monday having used these images to put pressure on the centrist, whose Catholic commitment is known.
“
I have never had or seen this video.
I have never diverted a single euro from a community
, ”he added, causing some bursts of laughter in the room.
The withdrawal of the mayor demanded
Outside, on the steps of the Town Hall, the municipal unions were gathered to demand a moratorium on all the decisions taken by Gaël Perdriau since 2014, as well as the withdrawal of the mayor LR.
"
That a city like ours reaches such a level of mediocrity makes me nauseous
," says Yannis, a city agent who came to demonstrate.
"
It's pitiful, we have the impression that this is a policy of kindergarten
", indignantly another.
Inside, the Albert-Lebrun room, which houses the council, is packed.
“
It's the first time I've seen so many people on the municipal council
,” says a citizen who came to attend the debates with irony.
Read alsoSextape blackmail: the mayor of Saint-Étienne, Gaël Perdriau, excluded from the Republicans
The question of the presence of the former chief of staff of the mayor, Pierre Gauttieri, this morning in the town hall, has also been raised on several occasions.
The latter was however dismissed by Gaël Perdriau last week because of the scandal, while the deputy, named by name accused of having shot the video, submitted his resignation.
Faced with the animosity of the audience, the mayor called for “
let justice place the responsibilities where they are
”.
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