The French justice opened an investigation after two complaints of sexual violence against another member of the government, Chrysoula Zacharopoulou, appointed Secretary of State last month, the Paris prosecutor’s office announced on Wednesday.
Zacharopoulou, 46, French of Greek origin, has been an MEP since 2019 and is Secretary of State for Development, Francophonie and International Associations.
According to the French weekly Marianne, which revealed the case, the alleged acts were committed within the framework of her profession as a gynecologist.
The first complaint was filed on May 25 and the investigation was opened two days later, the Public Ministry said, adding that a second complaint was filed on June 16, this one with events that would have occurred “in a medical context” in 2016. , according to a source close to the process.
Other French rulers are accused of sexual violence, such as the Minister of the Interior, Gerald Darmannsubject of a rape complaint, considered unfounded at first, but relaunched and for which the prosecutor requested his resignation in early 2022.
More recently, the Minister of Solidarity, Damian Abbot, was accused of rape. The Paris prosecutor’s office said it would not open a preliminary investigation into the case “as it stands.”
The announcement of the investigation into Zacharopoulou comes at a difficult time, given that the legislative elections, whose second round took place on Sunday, removed the absolute majority in the National Assembly from the political camp of President Emmanuel Macron.
Source: Observadora
