The mayor of Saint-Etienne, Gaël Perdriau, was found guilty on Monday of blackmail involving a sex tape and sentenced to four years in prison and banned from public office
The final verdict was harsher than that requested during his trial, with the convicted politician telling reporters as he left the court that he was "innocent" and "this decision is completely incomprehensible."
The 53-year-old right-wing politician from Les Républicains was tried at the end of September, for a case involving a trap set for a rival, former deputy mayor Gilles Artigues, who was filmed with a hidden camera in the company of a prostitute and then forced to keep a low profile.
During the long days of hearings, "the court heard everything you had to say" in response to the charges, but "found nothing in terms of excuses" to minimise "the extreme seriousness of the facts," said court president Brigitte Vernay.
Emphasising the "duty of exemplarity", "dignity" and "representation" of elected officials, she found the mayor "entirely guilty" of blackmail, criminal conspiracy and embezzlement of public funds and handed down sentences exceeding the three years' imprisonment requested by the public prosecutor.
Gaël Perdriau was sentenced to five years in prison, including four years without parole, with a deferred committal order and provisional enforcement, meaning he will soon be incarcerated, and to five years of ineligibility with immediate effect, requiring him to leave the town hall immediately.
When the sentence was announced, Perdriau remained impassive, and some applause rang out in the courtroom. During the investigation and his trial, he had insisted that he had played no part in the plot against Gilles Artigues.
The former centrist MP, who had revealed his suicidal thoughts during the trial, welcomed the decision. "Today, I think I will be able to rebuild my life," he said.
