Gaël Perdriau gave in to pressure from elected officials in the metropolis, who asked for his withdrawal last week.
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Gaël Perdriau announced to the vice-presidents of Saint-Etienne Métropole that he was stepping back from his duties as president, reports France Bleu Saint-Etienne Loire on Thursday September 22.
The mayor of Saint-Étienne therefore had to give in to pressure from elected metropolitan officials, faced with the sextape scandal. An overwhelming majority of them had already called for his withdrawal last week during a tense meeting. These same elected metropolitan officials also demanded that Gaël Perdriau oust his chief of staff, Pierre Gauttieri, which was done on Tuesday, September 20. It is Hervé Reynaud, mayor of Saint-Chamond and first vice-president of Saint-Étienne Métropole who will, a priori, ensure the interim of the presidency. Regarding the town hall of Saint-Étienne, a meeting is also scheduled for Thursday evening, according to information from France Bleu Saint-Etienne.
Gaël Perdriau, his former chief of staff Pierre Gauttieri and his deputy chief of staff Claire Vocanson are suspected of being involved, at different levels, in a sextape blackmail which lasted for years against Gilles Artigues, the former first deputy mayor of Saint-Etienne. The case was revealed by Mediapart on August 26.