"I do not feel weakened", at the head of the Finance Committee of the Assembly, he said during an exchange with the Association of Economic and Financial Journalists (Ajef), refusing to elaborate further on the subject.

An investigation was opened last week into sexual harassment and assault to examine the complaint filed by left-wing activist Sophie Tissier against Eric Coquerel.

She accuses him of facts that she thinks can "similar to sexual assault" having occurred in 2014 in Grenoble.

The activist, a former figure of the "yellow vests", had made public her accusations against Mr. Coquerel just after his accession on June 30 to the strategic post of chairman of the Finance Committee of the National Assembly.

The deputy had denounced in a forum in the Sunday newspaper on July 3 "unfounded rumors" about his behavior with women.

The president of the LFI deputies Mathilde Panot also affirmed on Monday that there would be "no withdrawal of Eric Coquerel" from the presidency of the Finance Committee despite the opening of this investigation, while a few days later Early on, the environmentalist deputy and feminist activist Sandrine Rousseau, a member of the Nupes alliance, had called on Mr. Coquerel to “stand back” during the investigation.

© 2022 AFP