The investigation into rape, sexual harassment and breach of trust which targets Gérald Darmanin did not prevent him from being appointed to the post of Minister of the Interior, in the government of Jean Castex. The Elysee Palace has indeed estimated that this does not "represent an obstacle" to its designation. The case, in the hands of justice for three years, has seen many twists and turns. Reminder.
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A complaint dating back to 2009
The first complaint against Gérald Darmanin is that of Sophie Patterson-Spatz, a woman who accuses him of rape. The facts go back to 2009. At that time, he was in charge of the legal affairs department of the UMP and the 30-something addressed him to erase from his criminal record a conviction for harassment. Gérald Darmanin would have assured him of his support to the Minister of Justice.
In exchange, Sophie Patterson-Spatz had, she said, "had to go to the pan". Heard in 2018, the former budget minister had recognized a "freely consented" relationship with his accuser and the investigation had been dismissed by the Paris prosecutor's office.
New auditions to come
A few months later, it was an investigating judge who, in turn, pronounced a dismissal without relaunching the investigations. A decision challenged by the complainant who, less than a month ago, obtained the reopening of judicial information with the resumption of the investigation. New hearings are coming, with, this time perhaps, a confrontation between Sophie Patterson-Spatz and the one who has just been appointed to the Hôtel de Beauvau.