He said he was “deeply hurt by the violence of the comments made against me”. In a Facebook post published on Thursday, Gaël Perdriau announced that he was filing a complaint “against the Republicans for defamation and against Éric Ciotti for public insults”.
Accused of having tried to dismiss one of his competitors with the help of a compromising video, Gaël Perdriau was expelled from the party on Tuesday, unanimously during a political office of LR. “After 25 years of activism and contributions, I am obviously sad about this decision which was taken without even hearing me, without waiting for justice to determine the reality of the facts and responsibilities”, he explains.
A “disrespectful decision” according to Perdriau
“Until recently, ‘The Republicans’ respected the presumption of innocence, the cornerstone of our legal system. My questioning by this press which hates us so much will have got the better of this salutary respect, continues the former vice-president of the movement. I am shocked by the speed and the conditions under which this decision, disrespectful of my rights and my person, was taken”.
Gaël Perdriau also says he is “saddened to see “Les Républicains” renouncing the values of justice, first and foremost the presumption of innocence”. The city councilor had been placed in police custody on September 13, following a complaint for blackmail from Gilles Artigues, former deputy and former first deputy mayor of Saint-Étienne (Loire). A judicial inquiry has been opened in Lyon.
The scandal, which has shaken the city of Saint-Étienne since the end of August, prompted Gaël Perdriau to dismiss his chief of staff and then to renounce his representative functions in the city and the Metropolis. One of his assistants, namely accused of having shot the video, presented his resignation.