The 50 -year -old elected official has not announced his resignation, but he will not chair the next metropolitan council and will no longer ensure his functions of external representation.
Le Monde
The mayor of Saint-Etienne, Gaël Perdriau (Les Républicains, LR), will delegate his functions as president to the metropolis, in connection with the blackmail case at the “sextape” which has shaken his city since the end of ‘August, learned the France-Presse (AFP) agency from one of the vice-presidents of the community, Thursday.
The 50 -year -old elected official will not chair the next metropolitan council, scheduled for September 29, and will no longer ensure his functions of external representation, explained the mayor of Unieux, the communist Christophe Faverjon. This solution is “the fruit of a collective reflection” in “respect for justice and its rhythm” in order to “preserve the metropolis” from the disturbances linked to this recent blackmail case to intimate video, he Explained at the end of a meeting of vice-presidents of the metropolis.
Gaël Perdriau called for withdrawal by his camp and the opposition
The image of the mayor of Saint-Etienne was considerably tarnished by a case of political blackmail at the “sextape” during a judicial investigation in Lyon. This case broke out at the end of August when a former close to the municipality made very detailed confessions at the Mediapart site on a “smear of manners” sponsored, according to him, by the mayor and his entourage to neutralize the ex -Mentist assistant, Gilles Artigues. According to this relative, the operation was paid through fictitious services billed with two local cultural associations subsidized by the town hall.
Last week, Mr. Perdriau had nevertheless displayed his “determination” to remain in office, remaining deaf to the calls of those who asked him to put himself on leave – local and national elected officials, in his camp and in the opposition, as well as local economic actors.
The councilor was placed in police custody on September 13, at the same time as three other members of the municipal team. The judicial investigation, open to Lyon after a complaint by Gilles Artigues, concerns the production and use of a video shot in January 2015 in which we see this former deputy known for his Catholic commitment and his homophobic positions being massaged by A man in a hotel room in Paris.