“My great strength is my innocence, that’s what keeps me going,”
said the mayor of Saint-Étienne, Gaël Perdriau (ex-LR), on Monday in response to calls for resignation relaunched by his news. indicted in the sex tape blackmail affair which has shaken his city since August 2022.
“The indictment is not a conviction”
, recalled the mayor and president of the metropolis, before the opening of the first council municipal of the year.
“I am determined to continue my mission as mayor to the end
,” he then said during the meeting.
“There is no proof of blackmail against anyone and for good reason there is no blackmail
,” he added.
In mid-January, the 51-year-old elected official was indicted for “participation in a criminal association” and “embezzlement of public funds by a holder of public authority”.
In April 2023, he had already been indicted for “blackmail” in this affair, which had earned him a first wave of calls for resignation.
Read alsoIn Saint-Étienne, the political destiny of Gaël Perdriau mired in the “sextape” scandal
Request for revocation
At the heart of the scandal, his possible role in the shooting in January 2015 and the use of a recording in which we see his centrist ex-first deputy, Gilles Artigues, being massaged by an escort boy in a hotel room .
Heard by the investigating judges in December, his former chief of staff, Pierre Gauttieri, also indicted in this case, affirmed that the mayor had given the “green light” to blackmail and managed its financing, according to trials -verbals obtained by
Mediapart
.
To the disavowal of his political family and the recent defections of several elected officials from his majority, is now added a request for revocation, addressed Sunday by the three opposition groups (PS-DVG, Ecologists, PCF) to the Prime Minister.
This procedure, provided for by the General Code of Local Authorities, consists of hearing the elected official concerned in order to decide whether the incriminated facts are likely to deprive him of the moral authority necessary for the exercise of his missions.
A first request was rejected at the end of 2022.
Read alsoDavid Lisnard asked Gaël Perdriau to withdraw from the AMF
Dropped by some of his running mates
Last week, the former socialist mayor of Saint-Étienne (2008-2014) Maurice Vincent urged the majority to let go of the mayor.
“The presumption of innocence, an essential guarantee of the rule of law (...) cannot be used to perpetuate the unjust collective punishment inflicted on our city for more than a year
,” he said.
“I do not want to agree with those who seek to destroy me, to dirty me, to drag me through the mud,”
Gaël Perdriau declared Monday during a press briefing, saying he was
“very calm, very serene
.
“We continue to work in the general interest of the city and its residents
,” he said.
Set back from the metropolis, where he was put in the minority, the elected official remains in the majority in the city.
Even if 10 of his 44 running mates, out of a total of 59 elected officials, recently asked him to entrust one of them with his post as mayor to concentrate on his defense and thus preserve the interests of the community.