French President Emmanuel Macron’s security guard was raped after a party at the Elysee Palace, while prosecutors are investigating an alleged attack on a female soldier by a colleague in July.
French prosecutors are investigating allegations that a female soldier from the security service of President Emmanuel Macron was raped by her fellow serviceman after a farewell party at the Elysee Palace in July.
According to The Guardian , the alleged attack took place this summer after a farewell reception for the general and two other people, which was attended by President Macron.
According to the French daily Libération, which first reported on the allegations, the farewell reception began at the Elysee Palace, where Macron spoke a few words and left at about 10pm. A source close to the case told Liberation that it happened on July 1, when coronavirus restrictions were eased across France.
“The President was there to say goodbye to Brigadier General Valerie Putz, his deputy chief of staff since July 2017, as well as one of his adjutants and a third officer,” the source claims.
Some of those present then left the Elysee Palace and moved to the premises of the president’s personal military headquarters on the rue de l’Elisey, adjacent to the presidential office. This is where the sexual assault allegedly took place.
According to Libération, the two soldiers – the alleged victim and the alleged assailant – were colleagues housed in a high-security office at the Elysee Palace, handling delicate government issues, most of which are classified or top secret.
According to the Daily Mail, the attacker, believed to have drunk heavily, allegedly lured his victim to a safe area where high-level command meetings are held regularly.
Libération reported that a young woman arrived at the police station closest to the Champs-Elysees after the alleged attack and immediately reported the rape that night.
The accused soldier was questioned by prosecutors as a “assisted witness,” indicating that he is still subject to further questioning but has not been formally charged, a source in the judiciary told AFP.
When asked to comment on the situation, a presidential spokesman said that “as soon as the authorities learned of these allegations, measures were immediately taken” to support the alleged victim, and “the accused was immediately transferred away from the Elysee Palace.”
Macron’s office will await a judicial investigation before deciding on any further action, the official told news agencies.
Earlier in his presidency, Macron was criticized for failing to publicly report violations against one of his security aides, Deutsche Welle notes. Alexander Benalla, Macron’s former security adviser, was sentenced to three years in prison (of which two were suspended) on charges last Friday, according to media reports, including attacking May Day protesters in 2018. Benalla was also found guilty of illegal use of diplomatic passports and illegal possession of weapons
