This is the first time she has spoken publicly about this affair. MP Sandrine Josso, who accuses Senator Joël Guerriau of having drugged her in order to sexually assault her, said, Monday, November 20 on France 5, that she “thought she was dying” during the evening of the events, of which she detailed the details. unrolled. She says she is still “post-trauma”.
“We can all suffer what I suffered,” said Ms. Josso, adding that “[her] duty is to raise awareness” about “the scourge” of chemical submission, from which “we can no longer look away.” .
Elected official from Loire-Atlantique, Joël Guerriau, 66, was indicted on Friday evening, suspected of having drugged Sandrine Josso, 48, MoDem deputy from the same department, in the night from Tuesday to Wednesday without his knowledge to sexually assault him. These accusations were denied by the senator’s lawyer.
Funny taste of champagne and insistence from the senator
The MP told France 5 the details of her evening, where she gradually realized that she had been drugged by Joël Guerriau. Ms. Josso said she went that evening “with confidence” and “in complete friendship” to celebrate the re-election of her colleague senator, elected from the same department, before returning to the National Assembly. “A friend for ten years”, of whom she is surprised on the spot by his “insistence” that she toast champagne with him several times – whose “sweet” taste surprises her –, as well as by the fact that he plays with the living room light dimmer.
“He would turn the light on very brightly, then turn it down,” a technique known to “increase the effectiveness of the drug,” as doctors at Lariboisière hospital, where she ended up spending the night, later explained to her.
Seized with “palpitations” and “sweating”, she then saw her host put “a white bag under the work surface” in her kitchen – ecstasy, which the police found in the same place during a search. “There, I understand,” but “I was already under the influence of drugs, my legs were shaking,” she testified. To escape the trap, the chosen one orders a taxi. But she notices that her host is following her “in the elevator, in the courtyard, to the taxi.” “I was panicked, my heart was beating… I felt like I was having a heart attack,” she added, specifying that she then called a fellow MP to come pick her up, before she went to the hospital.
A withdrawal requested by Gérard Larcher
Earlier in the day, the President of the Senate, Gérard Larcher, had asked Senator Joël Guerriau to “withdraw from all his activities linked to his mandate”, after his indictment.
“It is now up to Mr. Joël Guerriau to take his responsibilities, until justice and the police services can clarify the facts,” said the Senate presidency in a press release, where it affirmed “the extreme seriousness of the alleged facts to the senator and [the] principle of dignity which attaches to the exercise of the parliamentary mandate”. Mr. Larcher more particularly invited Mr. Guerriau “to resign from his functions as secretary of the Senate office and vice-president of the foreign affairs committee.”
Political sanctions
Samples revealed the presence of ecstasy in the victim’s body. Mr. Guerriau, at whose home the same drug was found, was indicted for use and possession of narcotics and placed under judicial supervision, with a ban on going to the MP’s home.
At the same time, political sanctions quickly fell against Mr. Guerriau, suspended on Saturday in turn by his political party, Horizons, then by his parliamentary group, Les Indépendants, both of which opened disciplinary procedures which could lead to his exclusion.
The president of the communist group in the Senate, Cécile Cukierman, approved Gérard Larcher’s request. “In order for the investigation to proceed peacefully, out of respect for the complainant and out of respect for the institution, withdrawal is appropriate. “It’s the least we can do, without prejudging the results of the investigation,” she said.