Six ten o'clock, Monday December 16, boulevard Voltaire, the artery which crosses La Penne-sur-Huveaune. Four plainclothes police officers – two women and two men – accompanied by a locksmith, ring the intercom of the apartment located above a barber's shop at the entrance to the town, according to detailed testimony collected by Provence.
At the time of the first searches, agents from the territorial crime division (DCT) came to arrest the mayor, Nicolas Bazzucchi, on suspicion of aggravated violence and spousal rape.
The investigators reappear ten minutes later, surrounding the elected official dressed in a black parka. The street is deserted and no one, not even the first customers of the tobacco shop which has just opened opposite, pays attention to the small group who are sitting in two unmarked vehicles. Head to the nearby town hall for a search which will last around thirty minutes. Here again, it is impossible to guess what is happening behind the lowered shutters of the town hall headed by Nicolas Bazzucchi, 29, since his election in March 2022. This local child presented himself without a label, benefiting from the support of the right to succeed Christine Capdeville (PCF).
He will leave handcuffed at 7 a.m., to be taken to the Évêché police headquarters in Marseille, where he has since been held in police custody. According to our information, at least one former partner of the mayor has filed a complaint for physical and sexual violence of which she was the victim within the framework of their relationship. “The conditions of arrest are inappropriate and the use of handcuffs exposed to the public when leaving the town hall is absolutely unacceptabledenounces Me Jérôme Gay, the mayor's lawyer. My client disputes all of the facts with which he is accused.”
But this town bordering Marseille has been buzzing for several days with rumors about the mistreatment suffered by several young women who had a romantic relationship with Nicolas Bazzucchi. According to our information, one of them had publicly complained about it last June in front of around fifteen people, including elected officials from the municipal majority, but had not filed a complaint.
Several of Nicolas Bazzucchi's former companions – as well as one of the main executives of the town hall – were also summoned on Monday December 16 and Tuesday December 17 to the Bishopric in order to give their testimony. “The police had extremely specific questions“, confirms one of them.
