For them, the message is clear: Damien Abad must resign. 188 women – elected officials, journalists, feminists, artists – demand in a column published Monday by Le Monde the resignation of the Minister of Solidarity, Autonomy and People with Disabilities, Damien Abad, targeted by accusations of rape. The signatories demand “the immediate resignation of Damien Abad and of any person implicated in sexual violence with a political mandate”.
“The question is simple: can Damien Abad, as his duties require, embody the general interest? “Ask the signatories of the forum launched by the Observatory of sexist and sexual violence in politics and the feminist association #NousToutes. MP Clémentine Autain (LFI), elected opposition politicians such as Laurence Rossignol (PS vice-president of the Senate) and Alice Coffin (councillor of Paris EELV) or even actress Adèle Haenel are among the signatories.
“The government is showing great cowardice”
“Can he, when three women accuse him of rape or attempted rape and that many people, including elected officials of the Republic, have testified to completely inappropriate behavior? “, Continues this forum. “His retention in the government is a symptom of the great resistance that the reactionaries put up against women who have been speaking out for years and are struggling to be heard. »
“By relegating the sole power to decide to justice, the government is showing great cowardice. It is not a legal decision that we are asking him to make, but a political decision. It is not justice that decides on the appointment of ministers, it is not up to it to decide on their resignation, ”continues the forum.
A demonstration in Paris to demand his resignation
A hundred women also gathered on Monday at the Place du Châtelet in Paris to demand his resignation, as well as that of the Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin, targeted by a complaint for rape closed without further action, then relaunched, and for which the prosecution requested a dismissal in early 2022.
“We want to draw attention to the huge gap between the second pseudo great cause of Emmanuel Macron’s five-year term and the continued government of Gérald Darmanin and Damien Abad, two men accused of rape and gender-based violence, in government”, explained Fatima Benomar, of #NousToutes.
For his part, Damien Abad refuted the accusations made against him in Mediapart, denouncing the “carefully chosen schedule” and the “partiality” of the newspaper’s investigation. The former leader of the Les Républicains deputies, who rallied to Emmanuel Macron after the presidential election, was re-elected on Sunday as a deputy in Ain, with 57.86% of the vote against candidate Nupes.