142 electors of Loire-Atlantique call on Joël Guerriau to resign

Le Figaro Nantes

Behind the Luxembourg Palace, suspended by his parliamentary group as well as his party, Horizons senator Joël Guerriau is keeping his head above water – but for how much longer? Increasingly pressing demands are pushing for the resignation of the elected official indicted and placed under judicial supervision in the chemical submission case of which the MoDem deputy Sandrine Josso was the victim, in November 2023. Latest salvo to date, the senator socialist Philippe Grosvalet distributed an open letter calling on his colleague to resign from his position. The document was co-signed by 142 electors from Loire-Atlantique – the constituency of Joël Guerriau.

“Mr. Guerriau’s choice to remain, at all costs, is not only regrettable for the image of the upper house of our Parliament, but also detrimental for the defense of our territory,” says the open letter. While taking care to remember that “the presumption of innocence must be respected to guarantee the rule of law”, the signatory local elected officials underline that its removal from the Palais du Luxembourg, where it no longer sits during the judicial investigation, results in “an under-representation of elected officials” of Loire-Atlantique, only four of the five senators being available in the Senate.

“His place is no longer in the Senate”

Joël Guerriau did not react to this umpteenth request for withdrawal. The senator has indicated several times that he wishes to continue his parliamentary work while the investigation continues. At the request of the president of the Senate, Gérard Larcher, he agreed to step back from his two functions within the upper house: the secretariat of the office and the vice-presidency of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defense and of the Armed Forces. “His place is no longer in the Senate”Gérard Larcher ruled at the start of the school year, recalling that only the Constitutional Council can dismiss a parliamentarian, and only after a court decision. The senatorial mandate of the Loire elected official should not be called into play before 2029.

Former bank director, aged 66, Joël Guerriau was indicted, on November 17, 2023, as part of a judicial investigation opened for “administration of a substance likely to impair the discernment or control of his acts, in order to commit rape or sexual assault”, and “possession and use of substances classified as narcotics”. The senator is suspected of having drugged MP Sandrine Josso, whom he had invited to his Parisian home, on the night of November 14 to 15. The elected official claimed to have felt bad after drinking a glass of champagne. Traces of ecstasy were found in the victim’s body after the alleged events. In an interview given in September to West FranceJoël Guerriau called for respect for the presumption of innocence, adding that it would be “unfair” to resign “because justice has not decided”.