Macron’s Renaissance rocked by sex abuse claims

Emmanuel Macron recently changed the name of his party from En Marche to Renaissance but so far all that has been revived are sordid accusations concerning some of his party members.

Last week, Jérôme Peyrat withdrew his candidature in the fourth district of the Dordogne from next month’s legislative elections after the media had made much of his conviction in 2020 for domestic violence against his wife. That Peyrat was nominated in the first place could be considered a stunning misjudgement, particularly from a president who famously declared in 2016 that he is ‘profoundly feminist’.

Peyrat resigned as one of Macron’s advisors in January 2020 after a preliminary investigation was launched into allegations of domestic violence against his partner. She spent two weeks off work recovering from bruises to her face, neck, shoulders, arm and wrist, and Peyrat was subsequently sentenced to a suspended fine of 3,000 euros (£2,500) by a court in Angoulême.