Struck by allegations of psychological violence, Julien Bayou retires

Not one, but two scandals to spurt Nupes’ political return. On Sunday, September 18, La France Insoumise du Nord MP Adrien Quatennens announced his retirement from his party post, after admitting to having “slapped” his wife, with whom he is in divorce proceedings. She screams to the left and within the feminist movements, disgusted by the reactions that followed.

Earlier this week it was another case, already made public this summer, but which did not make much noise, which re-emerged on the left, this time involving Julien Bayou, national secretary of Europa Ecologie-Les Greens and co-chair of the environmental group in the National Assembly.

Julien Bayou implicated by Sandrine Rousseau

It was through the voice of Sandrine Rousseau that the accusations came on Monday 19 September. Present on the set of C à vous, on France 5, the EELV deputy is invited to react to a tweet published by the We All collective, who regrets that no measures have been taken following the seizure, in July, of the dedicated unit gender-based sexual violence and based on:

On the set of C à vous, Sandrine Rousseau then explains that she received Julien Bayou’s ex-girlfriend at her home: “When I saw this woman, she was in a very depressed state, she was in very bad condition, she even attempted suicide a few weeks later”he explains, also indicating the behaviors “of a nature to infringe the moral health of women”.

But these allegations are not new. Last July, Le Figaro revealed that EELV’s cell on violence against women had been seized on Julien Bayou. The latter had spoken to the newspaper “A painful and difficult breakup”which according to him did not constitute “In no way sexist or sexual violence or inappropriate behavior towards anyone.” However, Sandrine Rousseau seemed to be referring to allegations of moral and psychological violence instead. In Figaro always, also Julien Bayou had proposed a “bitterness” from his ex-partner, pointing out the threats she would have addressed to him, writing, a few days after having kidnapped the internal commission of EELV: “Worry. I’ll be back strong”.

But this case would not be isolated, in the words of Sandrine Rousseau on the set of C à vous, which speaks of several women “Obviously there are several, but I’ve only heard one testimony.”

Ongoing investigation within the EELV

On the evening of Tuesday 20 September, EELV issued a press release, posted on its Twitter account. By leading the party to show itself in total control of the situation, the document claims to be aware of the commission’s seizure for facts involving Julien Bayou. They “act” also his “Withdrawal (…) from his duties as co-president of the environmental group”also affirming it “This situation is not worth the resignation”.

By causing a stir around the strongly criticized reactions of the LFI following the Quatennens affair, the EELV seems to want to anticipate possible criticisms, reaffirming its commitment to the fight against violence against women. Thus he remembers being gifted “A listening cell from 2016 then an investigative and sanctioning cell on sexual and gender-based harassment and violence at the beginning of 2017, a cell whose functioning is autonomous, transparent, voluntary and independent of the party and its leaders”.

Julien Bayou took a step back, but temporarily

According to information from France Info, Julien Bayou’s withdrawal would only be effective for the duration of the investigation. He will remain national secretary of the EELV until the congress of ecologists next December.

The EELV unit dedicated to sexist and sexual violence will be the subject of a “verification of its functioning”from February 2023. What, perhaps, to shed light on the slowness of the investigation, initially reported by the We All collective …

Photo of one: Youtube screenshot