Former French senator convicted of drugging a colleague, intending to assault her

PARIS – A former French senator was found guilty on Jan 27 of slipping a drug into champagne he served to another lawmaker with the intent to sexually assault her.

Joel Guerriau was convicted of administering a judgment-altering substance, identified by the prosecutor as ecstasy, to Ms Sandrine Josso, a member of the National Assembly, without her knowledge in order to commit assault. He was also found guilty of illegally possessing narcotics.

In its verdict, the court stated that Ms Josso consumed ecstasy “at a level well above the usual recreational dose,” causing her “significant physical problems that impaired her judgment and control over her actions”.

Guerriau received a four-year jail sentence, with 30 months suspended, and a five-year electoral ban. He was also ordered to pay Ms Josso €9,000 (S$13,620) in damages. The court rejected Guerriau’s defence that the drugging had happened “inadvertently”.

Guerriau’s lawyer told reporters outside the courthouse on Jan 27 that Guerriau would appeal the verdict, which puts the sentence on hold.

The court’s verdict also requires Guerriau, who is 68, to undergo psychological or psychiatric treatment and prohibits him from contacting Josso.

According to French news outlets, Guerriau, who

resigned from his position as senator

in October 2025, admitted in court on Jan 26 to possessing the substance but said he did not know it was ecstasy, and he denied knowingly drugging Ms Josso. He also denied any intent to sexually assault her.

Over the two-day trial, Guerriau and his lawyers argued he had placed the drug in a glass for his own use the day before but did not take it. He then forgot that he had left the substance at the bottom of the glass when he poured champagne in it for Ms Josso.

Guerriau has not commented publicly on the case.

The accusations against Guerriau

date back to November 2023

, when Ms Josso recounted the incident in an interview with the French TV channel France 5, just days after it took place.

Guerriau, a longtime friend, had invited her to his apartment to celebrate his reelection. She said she drank some champagne and soon started feeling unwell.

“He was in the kitchen, and he put a white bag back in a drawer under the counter,” Josso said. “And then I understood. I thought to myself, ‘What is this bag?’”

Ms Josso said she then managed to leave. She spent the night in the hospital and filed a complaint with police the following morning. NYTIMES