Julien Bayou is withdrawing from the co-presidency of the environmental group in the Assembly, franceinfo learned from parliamentary sources on Tuesday September 20. The decision was taken Tuesday morning during a group meeting in the Assembly, in the presence of 23 Green MPs. Julien Bayou, national secretary of the party, was accused by Sandrine Rousseau “behaviours likely to break the moral health of women”during the program “C à Vous” Monday evening on France 5.
>> What we know about the accusations brought against the ecologist deputy Julien Bayou by an ex-companion
The environmental leader stands back for the time of the investigation carried out by the Investigation and Sanction Unit on harassment and sexual and gender-based violence of EELV, seized by his ex-companion. According to one of his relatives, it is essentially a media break. In the meantime, Cyrielle Châtelain, the other co-chair, will chair the group alone. Julien Bayou remains national secretary of Europe Ecologie-Les Verts until the congress.
“It’s the right decision, when women’s voices are released, we have to draw the consequences”reacts Tuesday, September 20 on franceinfo Aurélien Taché, deputy of Val-d’Oise and treasurer of the environmental group in the National Assembly, after the withdrawal of Julien Bayou from the co-presidency of the environmental group in the Assembly. “He will continue to sit. He is stepping back so that the commission in charge of sexual and gender-based violence can work”says Aurélien Tache.
According to him, “it would be regrettable if Julien Bayou draws definitive conclusions even though we do not yet have the final conclusions of the commission”. Regarding the time taken by the commission, seized this summer by the ex-companion of the environmental leader, “This commission must do its job as quickly as possible”believes Aurélien Tache. “In the meantime, within the parliamentary group, the responsibilities have been taken since Julien Bayou is stepping back”.
Aurélien Taché also reacts to criticism from the Renaissance majority on cases of violence against women: “Nupes is the only political coalition, and ecologists in particular, which takes the subject of gender-based and sexual violence seriously and which demonstrates such exemplarity and such ethics”he says. “We are not waiting to know whether or not justice will convict. There is the voice of the victims who has spoken, we hear it, we have internal bodies which are working on what is needed. happened exactly. And in the meantime, Julien Bayou immediately made the decision to step back”concludes the Green MP.
After the accusations against Julien Bayou, Europe-Ecologie-les-Verts says it is “fully mobilized in the fight against violence against women. In a press release published on Tuesday, the Europe Ecology Les Verts party recalls having “a listening cell from 2016 then an investigation and sanction cell on harassment and sexual and gender-based violence at the start of 2017, a cell whose operation is autonomous, transparent, voluntary and independent of the party and its leaders”.
The Green Party details that “the cell was seized in July 2022 for a report concerning Julien Bayou” and adds that she “works at his own pace and with the sole concern of seeking the truth” and “depending on the urgency and seriousness of the alleged facts, it may decide on precautionary measures”. EELV also specifies that a “audit of its operation will be carried out in February 2023, after the decision of the Federal Council of February 2022”.