French interior minister cannot be prosecuted over rape accusations, top court rules
French interior minister cannot be prosecuted over rape accusations, top court rules
French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin cannot be prosecuted for accusations of rape made by a woman for years, France's highest court ruled on Wednesday, definitively dismissing the case and ending a seven-year legal battle.
A lower court was right to reject the complaint without starting a formal investigation due to a lack of evidence, the Cour de Cassation ruled.
The decision removed a major threat to the position of Darmanin, a former conservative who is one of President Emmanuel Macron's most senior allies and seeks to be regarded as "France's number one cop" through law-and-order politics and a tough stance on immigration.
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Darmanin, who will be in charge of security during the forthcoming Paris Olympic Summer Games, repeatedly denied the allegation that he coerced a woman into having sex in 2009 when she sought his help in having her criminal record cleared.
But the back-and-forth between the woman and French authorities weighed on Darmanin throughout his career in government and earned him the ire of feminists who protested against his appointment as a minister.
This article was produced by Reuters news agency. It has not been edited by Global South World.
