Damien Abad finally spoke. Accused of rape by two women, the new Minister of Solidarity said he was “innocent” during a short statement before the town hall of Saint-Jean-le-Vieux (Ain), Monday evening. The legislative candidate in the 5th constituency of Ain also explained that he did not intend to resign from the government.
“I contest the charges (of rape) against me in the strongest possible terms,” he told reporters. “I have always avoided putting my disability forward and I had to do it today to defend myself (…) I have never raped a single woman in my life. “And to add:” All the sexual relations that I have had in my life have always been mutually consented. »
“Should an innocent man resign? I do not believe “
Asked about his future in the Borne government, the 42-year-old elected official was clear. “Should an innocent man resign? I do not believe. In an interview with the newspapers of the Ebra group, the minister also denounced an “unhealthy voyeurism which undermines” his “dignity”, and affirmed that he retained “the confidence of the President of the Republic and the Prime Minister”. .
According to revelations from Mediapart, two women claim to have been victims of sexual violence by the former LR in the past. The reports were sent to LREM and to the Republicans by the Observatory of gender-based and sexual violence in politics. The Damien Abad affair embarrasses the new government, while the first Council of Ministers of the Borne era was held on Monday.