Julien Bayou Affair: The Ecologists are “under the influence” of Sandrine Rousseau, accuses the former deputy

Former MP Julien Bayou , cleared by the courts after accusations of moral harassment, said on Wednesday 26 February that his former party Les Écologistes was "under the influence" of Sandrine Rousseau , the feminist MP who had accused him of "behavior likely to undermine the moral health of women" .

"What saddens me is to see a party, the Ecologists, under the influence of Sandrine Rousseau," the former party leader declared on France Inter . "When she accuses, she says 'I'm waiting for a private investigation', when there is a private investigation, she says 'I'm waiting for justice', and when justice finally says 'he's cleared', she says 'that doesn't suit me'," he explained.

The procedure for moral harassment and abuse of weakness targeting Julien Bayou, opened after a complaint from his ex-partner, also a party activist, was dismissed for "absence of offence" . "When reality contradicts Sandrine Rousseau, it is reality that is wrong" , he deplored. The feminist MP considered on Monday that the dismissal of this case does not put an end to the political management of this subject within the Ecologists.

Julien Bayou, who left the party following an internal investigation against him and a call for testimonies launched among 12,000 people, notes that the party "is incapable of saying the word innocent" . "I was waiting for these 12,000 people (...) to receive a message saying that after investigation, there was nothing" , he says. The head of the Ecologists Marine Tondelier said on Tuesday that she was "sincerely sorry" for the "very strong suffering" generated by this affair, affirming nevertheless that it "was impossible to do well" .