December 1, 2025, 3:40 p.mDecember 1, 2025, 3:40 p.m
A court in France has sentenced the mayor of the city of Saint-Étienne, Gaël Perdriau, to five years in prison for blackmailing a political rival with a sex video.
The court found it proven that the 53-year-old conservative politician had his first deputy filmed with a hidden camera in a Paris hotel in the company of a male prostitute in order to neutralize him politically, as the newspaper “Le Figaro” reported.
Blackmail for years
A trap is said to have been deliberately set for the deputy. One year of the sentence was suspended. The mayor had protested his innocence in court until the end and announced that he would appeal. However, he must vacate his town hall office immediately after the verdict.
In her verdict, presiding judge Brigitte Verney spoke of the “extreme seriousness of the crimes committed”. Three other people involved in the extortion, which lasted several years, were also sentenced to prison.
The conservative party Les Républicains, of which Perdriau was now vice-chairman, had already expelled the mayor because of “vile methods” against a political rival. (sda/dpa)
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