Star of Macron cabinet faces calls to resign over rape allegations

cheap canada goose uk A rising young star in President Emmanuel Macron’s government canada goose uk faced calls on Monday to resign over rape allegations. cheap canada goose uk

Canada Goose online Gerald Darmanin, France’s 35 year old public accounts minister and described by one Macron aide as a “little political genius”, has been accused of sexual assault in a case dating back nearly 10 years. Canada Goose online

Mr Darmanin, a conservative politician with working class roots, was expelled from the Right wing Republicans party last October for joining Mr Macron’s Republic on the Move movement. He now reportedly enjoys a place in the French president’s inner circle.

The minister denies any wrongdoing.

canada goose factory sale The csjpembroke.ca calls to step down came after prosecutors official canada goose outlet launched a preliminary investigation into allegations of rape filed canada goose outlet los angeles by Sophie Spatz, 46, a former call girl. canada goose factory sale

canada goose uk black friday She alleges Mr Darmanin canada goose jacket outlet pressured her into sex in return for promising to help overturn a previous suspended sentence for blackmail involving an ex boyfriend. canada goose uk black friday

uk canada goose Prime minister Edouard Philippe insisted he still had the government’s”full confidence”. uk canada goose

But the controversy poses a conundrum for Mr Macron, who has blown hot and cold over at what point ministers facing legal woes should step down.

The prime minister’s office pointed out that no minister need step down unless placed under formal investigation.

But sensing a weak spot, the opposition Republicans canada goose outlet paypal claimed today that Mr Darmanin had “no choice other than to resign” in the “interests of the serenity of public action” given the “severity of the accusations”.

The Republicans pointed out that ex justice minister Franois Bayrou and Mr Macron’s campaign director Richard Ferrand had both stepped down from their posts before any charges were brought.

Socialist senator and former minister for families Laurence Rossignol was one of the rare politicians on the canada goose outlet locations in toronto Left to speak out. “We must keep two things in mind: the respect for presumption of innocence on the one hand and respect for the word of the complainant on the other,” she said.

MrsSpatz filed a first complaint against Mr Darmanin last year, but the case was closed when canada goose outlet ontario she failed to attend questioning by police. In mid January, she renewed her complaint and the case was re opened.

Mr Darmanin was 26 at the time of the alleged rape and in the legal team of the UMP party of Nicolas Sarkozy.

According to judicial sources cited by Le Monde, she told police he had instantly promised to help her with her legal woes, and invited her to dinner at a restaurant a stone’s throw from the French National Assembly to discuss the case.

It cited her as telling police: “He told me he’d do the utmost. I was on a cloud. At that moment, he put his hand on mine (and said): ‘You’ll have to help me too.’”

She said he then took her to La Chandelle, a swinger’s club notoriously frequented by disgraced ex IMF chief Dominique Strauss Kahn, and the pair ended up in a hotel next to canada goose coats uk the club.

Canada Goose Parka She said canada goose outlet she hid in the bathroom but later agreed to sex because she was desperate to canada goose outlet ottawa have her name cleared. Afterwards, she sent him a text message saying: “When you know the lengths I went to screw you!!! So you would handle my case.” Canada Goose Parka

According to the judicial file, he responded: “You’re right, I was no doubt a total cad. How can I beg pardon?”

He later sent a letter to the then justice ministry asking for it to reconsider her case, to no avail. She sent a letter denouncing his alleged “blackmail” to Jean Franois Cop, then head of the UMP’s parliamentary group, but he said he could not help.

In June, Mrs Spatz’s husband contacted feminist activist Caroline De Haas, who suggested contacting a lawyer specialised in sexual harassment.

Lawyer Elodie Tuaillon Hibon said that she could have a case for “rape by surprise”.

Her client, she said, had “clearly and unambiguously shown, even if in a courteous and tactful way, that she didn’t wish to bend to this man’s sexual requests”.

Four high profile feminists have launched a petition calling on the minister to step down and which has garnered more than 3,000 signatures.

Canada Goose Online Mr Darmanin has denied the allegations, conceding that he does have a reputation for being an insistent flirt and for “sending a few persistent text messages”. Canada Goose Online

His lawyers have spoken of a “crude attempt to harm” the minister’s reputation and said he was suing her for slander.

buy canada goose jacket cheap The accusations follow a tide of allegations of sexual harassment by women in the film industry and elsewhere, sparked by theMeToo Hollywood campaign. buy canada goose jacket cheap

canada goose uk shop French actress Catherine Deneuve recently sparked outrage by being one of the 100 signatories of an open letter published in French daily Le Monde, which called the MeToo movement “puritanical” and denounced it as a “witch hunt.” canada goose uk shop.