GERARD DARMANIN REVIEW OF THE NON-PLACE

FOLLOWING A COMPLAINT FOR RAPE

Indeed, an examining magistrate refused on 16 August 2018 to restart the investigations after a dismissal by the Paris prosecutor of the initial complaint of Sophie Patterson-Spatz. The latter had appealed this decision, but her appeal had been judged out of time by the Paris Court of Appeal.

But the highest court of the judiciary on Thursday said that "the proof of the notification of the order (no place, Ed) was not established, the time for appeal had not begun to run As expected on the day of the decision, made in the middle of the summer. Consequently, the Court of Cassation ordered the investigating chamber to reconsider Mrs Patterson-Spatz's appeal against this dismissal.

Gérald Darmanin, 37 years old, is accused by this 46-year-old woman of having raped her in 2009. At the time, she spoke to the elected representative, who was then in charge of the legal affairs department of the UMP. , to try to cancel a 2004 conviction for blackmail and malicious appeals against a former mate. According to her, Mr. Darmanin would have shown him his support to the Chancellery, in exchange for sexual favors.

At the height of this affair, a second accuser, a resident of Tourcoing (North), whose minister was mayor from 2014 to 2017, had lodged a complaint of "abuse of weakness", claiming that the elected representative had asked her for sexual favors. in exchange for housing. This procedure was also dismissed by the Paris prosecutor's office in spring 2018.

Benjamin Griveaux, still spokesman of the government, had excluded any resignation of the tenant of Bercy: "the questioning (...) against Gerald Darmanin is not an indictment, so we must leave the justice do its job.»