French senator Joël Guerriau, 66, is detained in Paris on suspicion of having tried to drug a deputy friend in order to obtain her sexual favors. The alleged victim, whose identity has not been released, immediately went to a hospital, where tests determined that there was the drug ecstasy in her system.
The events, which occurred on the night of Tuesday to Wednesday, caused stupor in the French political world. Guerriau belongs to the centrist Horizons party of former Prime Minister Édouard Philippe, which supports Macron. The senator, a banker by profession, was mayor of Saint-Sébastien-sur-Loire, a town south of Nantes, in the Loire-Atlantique department. He was re-elected to the Senate in last September's elections.
Guerriau and the deputy would be friends, although not a couple, according to the French media. He invited her to her home for a drink and immediately the woman felt very bad, so she rushed to a hospital. The discovery of her ecstasy confirmed the deputy's suspicion that the senator intended to abuse her.
In theory, parliamentarians, who enjoy immunity, cannot be detained except in cases of flagrant crime. In these circumstances, the table of the National Assembly or the Senate almost automatically decides to authorize the arrest. The crime of sexual submission through drugs supplied without the victim's knowledge is serious enough for the Senate to decide without delay.
The Senator, father of five children, detained is a relevant figure in the upper house. He serves as secretary and vice president of the Foreign Affairs, Defense and Armed Forces Commission.
Guerriau's lawyer, Rémi-Pierre Drai, was outraged by the leak of details of his client's arrest to the press. "We are very far from the lurid interpretation of the facts that can be deduced from reading the first press articles," the lawyer told the AFP agency.
Seven years ago, Guerriau was already the protagonist of another episode of a sexual nature. On his Twitter account (today X), a photo of an erect penis appeared. He then defended himself by saying that his collaborators frequently posted messages on the account and that he was not responsible. He announced that he would file a complaint but then backed out.
Social awareness of sexual crimes is growing in France. Just this Friday, the independent commission on incest and sexual violence against children presented its report, which has accumulated 30,000 testimonies. One of the recommendations to the Government and Parliament is that these crimes do not prescribe.
