Sentenced to a four-month suspended prison sentence on Tuesday for “violence” on his wife, Adrien Quatennens ruled out in the evening resigning from his post as deputy, believing he was the victim of a “media lynching”. “Resigning after being convicted of an act that I have admitted would set a dangerous precedent and open the door to all political manipulations of privacy,” he said in The voice of the Northhis first speech since his conviction in the context of a plea-guilty procedure.
In the wake of his conviction, the elected official was suspended for “a period of four months” from the group of LFI deputies, until April 13, 2023. A return will then only be possible if he undertakes to “follow a course on accountability on violence against women”. “I will respect the collective decision of the group,” he reacted. “But mine belongs to me and it’s taken: I’ve paid quite enough on all counts. I will not give in”, adds the one who intends to “honor” his mandate.
His resignation demanded
The decision of the LFI group surprised several parliamentarians from Nupes, the left-wing alliance the Assembly: the leader of the ecologist deputies Cyrielle Chatelain thus clearly demanded her resignation. Sandrine Rousseau believes for her part that “a deputy convicted of domestic violence cannot sit”. The group explained that it had tried to reconcile “the court decision taken after investigation, the feminist principle of taking women’s voices seriously, a desire for gradation of sanctions” and the fact that “Adrien Quatennens is already withdrawn from his parliamentary activity for three months”.
The rapid return of Mr. Quatennens to the political arena had already been undermined by new accusations at the end of November from his wife, evoking “physical and psychological violence” exerted for “several years”. He replied by saying that she had “openly threatened” him to “destroy (his) political commitment” if he did not respond favorably to his requests for divorce. “Even today (…) I am being blackmailed by the complaint or the media. »
A “political coup” intended to “defeat” it
“I know we wouldn’t be here if I had denied it like everyone else does. But I don’t regret it. Especially if it can usefully serve the cause of the fight against violence against women,” he insisted. “I simply discovered at 32 that in France, when you kneel down, you recognize a fault (…) the relentlessness does not stop”, he added. “The message sent has the merit of clarity: deny! »
The elected official, who arrived in court through a back door, avoiding journalists and activists from the #NousToutes collective, believes he is the victim of a “media lynching” and a “political” coup intended to “shoot him down”. “Several concordant sources tell me that this was directly orchestrated from the Ministry of the Interior. I am not in a position to affirm it myself today,” he said.