French mayor runs town from prison cell while he awaits appeal against rape conviction
RESIDENTS are trying to oust their mayor who is running the town, on the outskirts of Paris, from his prison cell after being convicted of rape.
Georges Tron, 63, a former Sarkozy minister, has been the mayor of Draveil since 1995, but was found guilty of rape and sexual assault in February and sentenced to five years in jail.
The conviction was seen as a victory for MeToo, with activists hoping the high-profile case would send a message to other offenders. But Tron appealed, and is allowed to hold his post until a final verdict is reached due to presumption of innocence.
Tron communicates with his staff by letters, which are read out at municipal council meetings.
“Until evidence proves otherwise, [Tron] is still the mayor,” his deputy, Richard Prviat, told television outside a heated council meeting. “No one has removed him from his post so he is still mayor.”
François Damerval, a local opposition official, said presumption of innocence aside, Tron could still be removed from office under administrative sanctions.
“But so far, the higher administration officials who have this power are refusing to exercise it,” he said. “It’s just shocking that we can let a man convicted of rape continue to hold office from prison”. When asked about ordering Tron’s removal in March, the French justice minister Eric Dupond-Moretti said the judiciary ought to remain independent from the case.
In an emotional exchange on the senate floor, Socialist senator Laurence Rouissignol told Mr Dupond-Moretti that the government had the authority to remove Tron. She also noted that Mr Dupond-Moretti served as one of Tron’s defence lawyers in his initial 2018 trial.
Accusations against Tron began over a decade ago, when he was forced to resign as a junior minister under President Nicolas Sarkozy.
Two former staff alleged that from 2007 to 2010, Tron forced them to accept foot massages which ended in rape and sexual assault. Tron denies the accusations, claiming he was simply interested in reflexology. He was initially acquitted on all charges, but an appeals court overturned the verdict.