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The head of France’s Greens party stepped down Monday after his former partner reportedly accused him of psychological abuse, amid pressure from his party and broader efforts to take action over misconduct towards women in French politics and society at large.
Julien Bayou, head of the Europe Ecology Greens party (EELV), said in a statement that he was stepping down due to the “untenable” nature of his position and Kafka-like situation aggravated by pressure on social media.
He has denied the allegations and said he would remain an MP, adding that the decision did not call into question "my current or future commitment".
The environmentalist came under pressure last week after fellow EELV lawmaker Sandrine Rousseau told a TV show that she had met Bayou's former partner, who was "very depressed".
In an explosive and leading statement, she added that Bayou "has behaviour that causes women to have mental breakdowns".
The allegations came amid a separate scandal that has enveloped the fellow left-wing party France Unbowed (LFI), where a senior MP recently admitted hitting his wife during a break up.
Influential three-time presidential candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon initially defended him, and both drew widespread criticism within their leftist camp for not upholding pledges to defend women’s rights and fight sexist violence.
Rousseau has faced criticism for publicly undermining a colleague on the basis of allegations about his private life that have not been reported to the police.
Investigation began in July
An internal EELV committee that investigates gender-based or sexual violence began a probe into Bayou in July.
At the time, he said he was going through a "breakup that includes barely concealed threats to me and a form of manipulation that I can only condemn."
Allegations about harassment and assault are rife in French politics, surfacing regularly since the #MeToo movement against sexual violence began in 2017.
In July, Damien Abad, a right-winger who was named minister in Macron's freshly installed centrist government, was forced to step down over rape allegations.
The end of coalition?
After years in the political wilderness, France's left-wing parties grouped together in a coalition known as "Nupes" for parliamentary elections in June.
The alliance raised hopes they might serve as a united opposition to the centrist ruling alliance of President Emmanuel Macron, but it has struggled to maintain a common front.
Communist party head Fabien Roussel broke ranks publicly with his partners in mid-September, when he said the left "must defend the notion of work, and not be the left of benefits and social security."
Rousseau replied that "work was a value of the right", adding that people had "the right to be lazy" and that the left should be focused on reducing the length of the working week.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP)
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