GILLES ARTIGUES. Was the former first deputy of Saint-Étienne, Gilles Artigues, the victim of a political plot on the part of mayor Gaël Perdriau? This is reported by Mediapart. The explanations.
[Mis à jour le 26 août 2022 à 18h10] Eight years. It has been eight years since Gilles Artigues was the victim of blackmail. In 2014, the former first deputy of Saint-Étienne was filmed without his knowledge while he was spending an intimate evening in Paris. What he does not know then is that everything is recorded by political “friends” as reported by the newspaper Médiapart. The purpose of the operation? According to the investigative newspaper, it was a question of containing the influence and the ambitions of the chosen one. Hands and feet tied, Gilles Artigues then suffered during all these years the consequences of this act. Indeed, the aedile is a father particularly involved in the Catholic community. Impossible then for him to reveal the pot of roses.
At the origin of this video, we find a local elected representative of the majority, Samy Kéfi-Jérôme. The latter did not wish to answer questions from Médiapart after initially denying the existence of the video. For his part, Gaël Perdriau also denies any project against Gilles Artigues: “I am not aware of such a project.”
Maître André Buffard, lawyer for the alleged victim, has, for his part, hinted that his client was certainly going to reveal new elements. Indeed, if he was well aware of being the victim of blackmail, he had not understood that he was at the center of such a plot: “In the light of your information, my client discovers that he has been the victim of a well-considered conspiracy and a machination aimed at eliminating him. My client therefore reserves the right to reveal to the justice the details of the pressures he has been subjected to for all these years, insofar as he decided to file a complaint for “aggravated blackmail”.
The video in question shows an escort giving an erotic massage to Gilles Artigues. During the thirty minutes and thirty-three seconds of images, the chosen one appears naked, but no sexual relationship is filmed. According to Médiapart, the content is however explicit enough to put Gilles Artigues in difficulty. The latter has never viewed the entire recording. On the other hand, a sequence of 2 minutes and 11 seconds was broadcast to him during an appointment with Samy Kéfi-Jérôme. Entitled “In bed with Gilles Artigues”, it shows passages from the intimate evening of the chosen one, recalling his Catholic commitments. The short video ends with a warning: “We are going to take a break… Next episode…” From there, the nightmare begins for Gilles Artigues.