This Wednesday, Nicolas Hulot announced on BFMTV that he was withdrawing “definitively from public life” following several accusations of sexual assault and rape. The former minister immediately denied the accusations even before the show was broadcast. Correspondent on France 2 in which these facts must be revealed. Nicolas Hulot therefore took the lead, as in 2018, before the publication of a controversial investigation by the late magazine Ebdo, reporting a complaint for “rape” filed ten years earlier against the former TV host and dismissed.
At the time, before the publication of the article, the one who was then Minister of the Ecological and Inclusive Transition had gone on BFMTV to deny any inappropriate behavior and had denounced “ignominious” rumors. 20 minutes returns to 2018 and takes stock of these cases
What are the new accusations made against Nicolas Hulot?
Four or five women would accuse Nicolas Hulot of sexual assault and rape. Facts dating back to 1989, two years after the show’s launch Ushuaia. This Wednesday, Nicolas Hulot has anticipated a report that must be broadcast in the show Correspondent, on France 2, and in which these accusations must be revealed. Nicolas Hulot said he did not know the names of the new accusers. As for France Télévisions, it has not confirmed the existence of this report, nor the information it contains. “In the process, no more because my conscience would not be quiet, I definitively leave public life simply because I am disgusted, added the former TV host. I am leaving my engagement and I will not speak again. It’s too heavy paid. “
Nicolas Hulot (@N_Hulot): “I am definitely leaving public life” pic.twitter.com/oQSzEeUjo3
– BFMTV (@BFMTV) November 24, 2021
What happened in 2018?
In 2018, a survey by the magazine Ebdo revealed that a woman had lodged a complaint for “rape” against the former host elected among the three favorite political figures of the French in January 2021. The Saint-Malo prosecutor’s office, like Nicolas Hulot, had confirmed the complaint filed in 2008, but closed without follow-up, the acts denounced which date back to 1997 being “prescribed”. The same investigation mentioned a rumor of sexual harassment against a former collaborator of the Nicolas Hulot Foundation who had herself denied.
The author of the complaint, not named in Ebdo, was Pascale Mitterrand, granddaughter of the former president. She then said she never wanted to publicize the case. For his part, Nicolas Hulot had filed a complaint for defamation against Ebdo, before withdrawing it at the end of 2018. The one who was at the time Minister for the Ecological Transition had not been politically affected by this highly criticized article. He finally left the government with a bang in August 2018, denouncing the lack of progress on the environment.
What is Nicolas Hulot’s line of defense?
As in 2018, Nicolas Hulot took the lead by going to explain himself on BFMTV before the survey was broadcast. Faced with journalists who do not have all the pieces of the puzzle in hand, the former minister hammered: “these assertions are false.” “I have never forced anyone”, he assured, denouncing a “system which is losing its reason”, with “the justice which moves on the television sets”. “Some evil spirits will take this as a clue of guilt. No, it is the expression of my disgust ”, he anticipated again.
Nicolas Hulot also highlighted his notoriety, showing himself as a target. “Why perpetuate a reputation that makes me suffer the worst that a man can suffer? “. “I am leaving my commitment, I will not speak any more, it is too heavy paid”, he adds, wishing to “protect from dirt” the foundation which bears his name, “which is the work of my life” . And now, what will life be like for someone who has long maintained his image as the “favorite environmentalist of the French”? “Put myself away from this world that I no longer recognize,” he replied. “From tomorrow, everything will ignite and the lynching will begin”.