Justice: Georges Tron definitively sentenced for rape and sexual assault

Europe 1 with AFP 6:25 p.m., December 8, 2021

The rejection on Wednesday of the cassation appeal by former Secretary of State Georges Tron made his conviction for rape and sexual assault final, a ten-year conclusion of a case that has become emblematic of the questions surrounding sexual consent.

In its judgment, the Court of Cassation considered that the Paris Assize Court of Appeal had "characterized" the various elements "constituting the offenses of which it declared the accused guilty" last February, which Georges contested. Tron.

A five-year prison sentence, two of which were suspended, and six years of ineligibility

Incarcerated since the verdict at the Health prison in Paris, the former mayor of Draveil (Essonne), now 64 years old, must serve a five-year prison sentence, two of which are suspended. At the end of a procedure with twists and turns, Georges Tron and his ex-cultural assistant in Draveil, Brigitte Gruel, were found guilty of having imposed touching and digital penetrations in November 2009 and January 2010 on a municipal employee, Virginia Ettel, under the guise of foot reflexology sessions.

The Assize Court on the other hand acquitted them of similar facts on the second plaintiff, Eva Loubrieu, by arguing "imprecise declarations" and "variable in time" of the interested party.

Brigitte Gruel was sentenced to two years in prison.

The court also imposed a six-year ineligibility sentence on Georges Tron.

A "moral constraint" exerted on one of the victims

After four weeks of hearing and eleven hours of deliberation, the Assize Court considered that the councilor had exercised on Virginie Ettel a "moral constraint" characteristic of a "lack of consent", because of her personality and its hierarchical superiority.

"Virginie Ettel has never been in revenge but in justice, it is definitely past today, we can only rejoice. For the public debate too", responded to AFP Me Laure Heinich, the victim's lawyer, after the judgment of the Court of Cassation.

"Very disappointed", "protesting his innocence", Georges Tron will now focus on the adjustment of his prison sentence, told AFP his counsel, Me Bertrand Périer.

The issue of consent at the heart of the trials

The condemnation and the spectacular fall of Georges Tron sounded like a dramatic turn in this soap opera stretched over a decade, marked by his resignation from the Fillon government in 2011, a dismissal order quashed and the acquittal of the two accused in the first proceeding in 2018.

At a time when denunciations continue to fuel the debate on sexual violence and power relations between men and women, the issue of consent has been the cornerstone of the two trials of Georges Tron, with opposite verdicts.

Foot massages, lies, clandestine recordings ...

At first instance, the Seine-Saint-Denis Assize Court had found the existence of sexual relations credible because of the "general hyper-sexualized climate" which reigned at the town hall of Draveil.

But she had removed any constraint by pointing out certain contradictions, and even lies, of the complainants.

Foot massages, lies, clandestine recordings, "omerta", crude descriptions of triolic sex scenes ... The trials offered a dive into the microcosm of the town hall of this suburb of Paris of 30,000 inhabitants, that Georges Tron had been running since 1995.

A "municipal harem" according to the accusers of Georges Tron

According to his accusers, the former mayor used his power and his presence to constitute a "municipal harem" by offering jobs to women in his administration.

Despite his conviction and his imprisonment, Georges Tron, "prevented", continued for a time to direct Draveil from his cell to the prison of Health, arguing his appeal in cassation.

Under pressure from a threat of dismissal by the government, he finally gave up his mandate in May.

A resignation which put an end to twenty-five years of reign of "Mr. Mayor" over the city.

"I take note of the court decision taken today, and which is still binding on us," Richard Privat, his successor as mayor of Draveil, told AFP, reaffirming his determination to "pursue the commitments "by Georges Tron for his city.