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Rabat – Two women have accused France’s newly appointed solidarity minister, Damien Abad, of sexual violence and rape, saying in interviews with Mediapart on Saturday last week that the French minister forced them to have sexual intercourse with him.
The alleged rape cases happened in 2010 and 2011, and one of the two women is reported to have filed a complaint to security services in 2017.
But the French minister has strongly denied the accusations against him, saying that any relations he had in his life were by “mutual consent.”
He also argued that he has a disability called arthrogryposis, which affects all four of his limbs and makes it “impossible” for him to commit acts of sexual violence.
Commenting on the news, Elisabeth Borne, France’s newly-appointed, said she did not know about the accusations when he joined her government.
“On all these subjects of harassment, sexual assault, there can be no impunity and we must continue to act so that women who may be victims of assault, harassment, can speak freely,” she said.
Social media users reacted to the accusations against Abad heavily.
“Damien Abad, who was appointed minister in the French government has been accused of rape by two women according to @Mediapart. It does not sound good for Emmanuel Macron and Elisabeth Borne,” one user wrote on his Twitter.
Damien Abad, who was appointed minister in the French government has been accused of rape by two women according to @Mediapart. It does not sound good for Emmanuel Macron and Elisabeth Borne. https://t.co/v7TX10TJr7
— Alexander Seale (@AlexSeale) May 22, 2022
Another Twitter user criticized the French government, saying: “Another alleged rapist named minister in France.”
This is not the first time a senior French official has faced accusations of sexual misconduct.
Nicolas Hulot, a journalist and environmental activist who served under Macron as Minister of Ecological and Solidary Transition between 2017-18, faced several accusations and rape complaints in 2021.
Another alleged rapist named minister in France. https://t.co/HvxWgc044A
— manu #BLM ? Space Karen’s waifu (@trekonomics) May 22, 2022
Several women testified against him in a TV documentary, including the granddaughter of former socialist president Francois Mitterrand. Hulot also denied the accusations, in turn accusing the women of lying.
