accused of blackmail, the mayor of Saint-Étienne was placed in police custody

The mayor of Saint-Étienne (Loire) was placed in police custody on Tuesday, September 13, after revelations about a case of “political blackmail”. What do we know about this case? The summons concerns five people, “Gaël Perdriau, the mayor Les Républicains de Saint-Étienne, as well as several of his right-hand men”, details the journalist Bérengère Bourgeot. “They are heard under police custody (…) and accompanied by their lawyers”she continues.

“Gaël Perdriau, the mayor of Saint-Étienne, would have blackmailed one of his former first deputy because he would have overshadowed him politically”explains the journalist. “The victim was trapped, was filmed without his knowledge in a hotel room in the company of a male prostitute”, she specifies. A man who was part of the plot revealed these elements to “Mediapart”. The mayor proclaims his innocence, but sound recordings undermine his line of defense. “His municipal majority completely loose him and his party, Les Républicains, has just started a procedure exclusion”concludes Bérengère Bourgeot.