It was a speech that triggered such strong and immediate reactions from the opposition. Guest of Franceinfo this Wednesday, the general delegate of La République en Marche (LREM) Stanislas Guerini defended Jérôme Peyrat, candidate of the presidential majority for the legislative elections and convicted of domestic violence. This former counselor at the Élysée was sentenced in September 2020 to a suspended fine of 3,000 euros in a case of violence against an ex-companion.

"He's an honest man, I don't think he's capable of violence against women," said Guerini, before adding: "If I had the conviction or even the suspicion that we were dealing with someone who can be violent and guilty of violence against women, I would never have accepted this investiture. “He also declared that he had” taken the time to read the recitals (of the judgment), to understand, to know if basically, we could have someone who could be capable of voluntary violence “. “I believe and I am even infinitely convinced that this was not the case”, concluded the general delegate of LREM.

Opposition headwind

At the same time, Stanislas Guerini assured that he wanted "never to give the impression that we could prevent the release of women's speech, that we could prevent the judicialization of cases when there is intramarital violence" but that it was necessary "to look at things in their complexity". "In this case, there was a dispute, two convictions, on both sides and I believe that we can respect that", he added, stressing that the ex-companion of Jérôme Peyrat " was also condemned.

The violence observed had earned his ex-wife 14 days of ITT. According to France Bleu, she herself was fined 500 and 800 euros for malicious calls and SMS to the candidate and relatives. The statements of the general delegate of LREM earned him a shower of criticism on social networks, starting with the deputy La France insoumise Mathilde Panot, who exclaimed: “What a shame, what a shipwreck. »

LREM, when the perpetrators of violence are not convicted: presumption of innocence! LREM, when the perpetrators of violence are convicted: he is an honest man! What a shame. What a shipwreck.

“Unacceptable speech by Guerini! “, also lamented the deputy LFI Bastien Lachaud, on Twitter, castigating a “unworthy hypocrisy”. “I am thinking of women victims of domestic violence who hear these remarks of incredible violence. Going from the great cause of the five-year term to the great tartufferie. We need a reaction from the majority leader Élisabeth Borne, ”said socialist senator Rachid Temal.