ZACHAROPOULOU. Secretary of State Chrysoula Zacharopoulou is accused of rape by two women. The alleged facts relate to non-consensual penetrations carried out as part of his duties as a gynecologist.
[Mis à jour le 23 juin 2022 à 11h46] With two rape complaints filed against her in the space of a month, Chrysoula Zacharopoulou is in turmoil. The Secretary of State for Development, La Francophonie and International Partnerships and trained gynecologist is accused of rape and gynecological violence by former patients. The alleged facts date back to 2016, 2018 and 2019 when the doctor practiced in Trousseau and Tenon hospitals, both members of the AP-HP. The complainants denounce non-consensual vaginal and rectal penetrations in a medical setting. The weekly Marianne revealed the existence of the two complaints filed respectively on May 25 and June 16, 2022, i.e. after the appointment of Chrysoula Zacharopoulou to the government. The Paris prosecutor’s office quickly followed up by opening an investigation on May 27 to “determine whether the facts are likely to fall within the scope of a criminal qualification”. The investigations are still under the responsibility of the personal crime repression brigade (BRDP).
What are the charges against the gynecologist, Chrysoula Zacharopoulou?
Chrysoula Zacahropoulou is accused by two complainants who present themselves as former patients of the gynecologist and denounce acts of rape during a medical consultation. The two women, one of whom specifies that she was of legal age during the alleged facts, detailed their accusations on Wednesday evening in the program Daily. The author of the first complaint evokes a rectal penetration carried out according to her even though she had expressed the refusal of the medical examination. “I tell her no. I see that I don’t have a say and she puts on her glove. I started crying. Then she came back”, she says, specifying that she was “totally frozen, I couldn’t speak, I couldn’t breathe, I was cut off from everything. I was crying in silence. I said that I was in pain, she said to me: ‘No it’s ok, it’s not than a digital rectal examination.
The second complainant indicates that she was attacked in 2016 while consulting Chrysoula Zacharopoulou for problems with endometriosis, the specialty of the gynecologist and now Secretary of State. In her testimony, she recounts having undergone “”a vaginal examination without a word […] by surprise” and rectal penetration “without consent either”. Alleged acts which she describes as “brutal, violent and very painful”. Today, the former patient declares to be in a “post-traumatic state which is very difficult to manage”. She added to the microphone of Daily that during his consultation “all the young girls before me left the meeting in tears”.
Chrysoula Zacharopoulou is also implicated by a third woman contacted by theAFP who explains that he experienced his gynecological consultation, again for pain linked to endometriosis, “at least like a sexual assault”. If she is said not to have filed a complaint at the time for fear of not being believed, today she is “hesitant” to do so. According to Sonia Bisch, founder of the Stop Obstetrical and Gynecological Violence association interviewed by BFM TVhis organization also received the testimonies of three other women who “denounce serious psychological violence where they felt humiliated, abused” during a medical consultation with Chrysoula Zacharopoulou.
When was Chrysoula Zacharopoulou appointed to the government?
Chrysoula Zacharopoulou was appointed to the Borne government on May 20, 2022 to hold the position of Secretary of State for Development, La Francophonie and International Partnerships, under the leadership of Catherine Colonna, Minister of Foreign Affairs. She was one of the surprises of the reshuffle, in particular because her profession as a gynecologist suggests that the allocation of a portfolio dependent on the Ministry of Health would have been more appropriate. Her appointment to International Partnerships can be explained by the role she played in 2021 in the Covax system supposed to organize the delivery of vaccines against the coronavirus from Western countries to developing countries.
Secretary of State Chrysoula Zacharopoulou was, however, involved in politics before being a member of the executive. She notably joined La République en Marche (LREM) in 2019 and was elected MEP the same year. In addition to her investment in the presidential party, Chrysoula Zacharopoulou was commissioned to conduct a study on endometriosis, a subject on which she holds a doctorate and for which she submitted a full report to Emmanuel Macron on January 11. 2022.
After Gérald Darmanin and more recently Damien Abad, Chrysoula Zacharopoulou is the third government minister, but the only woman, to be implicated for sexual assault. She is also the only one being investigated. Contacted by France infoMatignon did not wish to comment on the case.