the mayor of Saint-Étienne still in turmoil

An opposition municipal councilor in Saint-Étienne (Loire) says he wants to break the silence. Ali Rasfi accuses the mayor’s office of having put pressure on him during the 2020 municipal election. He says he received text messages from a close collaborator of the city council, assuring him that he had been filmed “in to influence voters” and that the town hall would use this video. “It is a system of functioning by blackmail, by threats, and above all by the violation of people’s privacy, by filming them“, laments Ali Rasfi.

Since the end of August, the city has been living to the rhythm of scandals and accusations. The mayor, Gaël Perdriau, is suspected of having blackmailed his first deputy for years. Gilles Artigues says he was trapped in 2014 by the mayor’s entourage, filmed without his knowledge with a prostitute in a Parisian hotel. The video was then allegedly used to put pressure on him. The mayor denounces accusations “despicable“. Friday, September 23, Sami Kéfi-Jérôme, accused of being the co-author of the blackmail, tendered his resignation. A preliminary investigation was opened.