Ann Kathrin Stracke, a German journalist, filed a complaint in March against Valéry Giscard d'Estaing for sexual assault, according to information from Le Monde and the Süddeutsche Zeitung . The former President of the Republic would have touched the buttocks of the complainant on several occasions after an interview on December 18, 2018. But for Maître Jean-Marc Fedida, the lawyer for Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, this complaint is "ridiculous, derisory, grotesque and outrageous for the president".
>> Watch Matthieu Belliard's morning show in replay and in podcast here
"Neither rape, harassment, nor assault"
"The president does not remember anything and in addition the facts which are reported appear particularly innocuous and ridiculous," estimated the lawyer of VGE near Europe 1. "I do not understand how such a complaint can take such proportions but in my opinion, this is not a case that is likely to have consequences of any gravity, "he continues.
For Jean-Marc Fedida, "this is not rape, harassment or aggression, it is absolutely not qualifiable on the legal level". And to conclude: "For me, this complaint has absolutely no place to be."
After carrying out her interview, the complainant allegedly asked the former head of state for a photo with her cameraman and her sound recorder. The latter would then have taken the opportunity to put his hand on his buttocks. He is said to have started over several times, despite the journalist's attempts to push his hand away. Still according to the statements of this behind, he would not have stopped until after his cameraman had knocked down a lampshade to divert attention.