French senator accused of drugging colleague with a view to raping her resigns
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
French senator Joel Guerriau is facing trial for allegedly using ecstasy to spike the champagne National Assembly deputy Sandrine Josso was drinking in 2023.
PHOTO: AFP
Follow topic:
- Senator Joel Guerriau will resign in October amid accusations of drugging MP Sandrine Josso with ecstasy in Nov 2023.
- Guerriau denies the charges, claiming his resignation is unrelated, but Josso expresses "disgust" at his delayed departure.
- Guerriau faces trial and potential disciplinary action after being suspended by his party, Horizons, following the accusations.
AI generated
RENNES, France – A French senator accused of drugging a Member of Parliament with the intention of sexually assaulting her will resign in October, he said on Sept 20, though his accuser said the delayed departure left her in “disgust”.
Senator Joel Guerriau, 67, is facing trial for allegedly using ecstasy to spike a glass of champagne
Guerriau, who denies the charges, told AFP he would resign from the Upper House in early October, confirming a report first published by API News.
The three-term senator said he had long planned to step down two years into his current six-year term, denying the decision was related to his criminal case.
Ms Josso said the news, “which (Guerriau) claims is the result of a personal commitment and not connected with the extremely serious legal case in which he is charged”, had left her in “disgust”.
“Once again, it’s the aggressor who chooses his schedule, his narrative, his exit,” the Lower House lawmaker said in a statement.
“This is not an act of responsibility or decency. It’s a strategic retreat, just months from his trial and having profited immensely from the privileges of his office.”
Senate president Gerard Larcher announced in July that he would refer Guerriau’s case to the chamber’s ethics committee, setting him up to face possible disciplinary measures.
Guerriau had already been suspended by his party, the centre-right Horizons group, after he was charged over drugging Ms Josso with the intention of raping or sexually assaulting her.
The senator has rejected the accusation that he deliberately drugged her, describing the incident as a “handling error”.
The allegations come after Frenchman Dominique Pelicot was jailed for 20 years
