Page 32 - AM231122

6 INTERNATIONAL
French Senator Suspended Amidst Shocking
Allegations of Drugging Female Colleague
A startling turn of events, French Senator Joel Guerriau, 66,
has been suspended from the Horizons party, led by former
Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, following his arrest for
allegedly spiking a female MP’s drink with a date-rape drug
as part of a sexual assault plot. Guerriau, a senator since
2011 and a banker, was formally charged on Friday and is
currently in detention.
The victim, 48-year-old Sandrine Josso, a member of the
centrist MoDem party, fell ill after accepting a glass of cham-
pagne at Guerriau’s Paris home on Tuesday night. Although
the two have known each other for about a decade, they are
not in an intimate relationship, according to prosecutors.
The shocking revelations prompted the Horizons party and
the Independents caucus in the French Senate to suspend
Guerriau, with the possibility of expulsion. Horizons stated
it would not tolerate any complacency towards sexual and
sexist violence.
Josso’s lawyer, Julia Minkowski, revealed that Josso
observed Guerriau grabbing a small plastic bag containing a
white substance from a drawer in his kitchen, leading to her
sudden illness. Minkowski described Josso’s escape from
the situation as requiring “monumental physical and intel-
lectual forces.”
Wednesday, 22 November 2023
During a search of Guerriau’s office and home, ecstasy was
discovered, prompting investigators to confirm its presence
in Josso’s system. This discovery led to her filing a criminal
complaint.
In the first formal questioning on Friday, Guerriau denied
any sexual assault plot. A source close to the investigation
revealed that Guerriau claimed he believed he had procured
a substance to induce euphoria, not ecstasy, from another
senate member to help him with personal troubles.
Guerriau’s lawyer, Remi-Pierre Drai, asserted that his client
would fight to prove he never intended to administer a
substance to abuse Josso. Drai described Guerriau as an
honest and respected man, challenging the characterization
of him as a predator.
The scandal has sent shockwaves through Guerriau’s long-
time political and local circles, with Saint-Sébastien-sur-
Loire, the town where he served as mayor for 22 years,
expressing disbelief. Local lawmakers described Guerriau
as an “affable” man with a certain aura but acknowledged
his occasionally unpleasant interactions with opposition
lawmakers. The scandal is anticipated to have repercussions
on public perceptions of elected officials.