Julien Bayou accused of psychological violence: two investigations opened against the former EELV leader

Julien Bayou had to give up directing EELV after initial accusations from his ex-partner. MAXPPP – Vincent Isore

Two investigations were opened in Paris at the beginning of March after complaints by Anaïs Leleux against her ex-spouse Julien Bayou for moral harassment and abuse of weakness, and against the party he led, Europe Ecologie-Les Verts (EELV), AFP learned this Wednesday June 5, 2024 from a source close to the matter.

Upon request, the Paris public prosecutor's office confirmed on June 5 that "the investigations opened by (these) complaints were entrusted at the beginning of March to the Brigade for the Repression of Personal Delinquency ( BRDP)".

Pressure to make her believe that she "was crazy"

Anaïs Leleux, feminist and environmental activist, announced at the beginning of March that she was filing a complaint against the Paris MP, denouncing pressure on his part to make her believe that she "was crazy".

She also accused him of having taken advantage of her weakness to make her sign "lots of papers&amp ;quot;, like "a separation convention" or "a deed of sale".

Other testimonies from women describing harassment have been published in the press.

EELV then entrusted an internal investigation into these accusations to a specialized firm, following which the former national secretary slammed the door of EELV and the parliamentary group at the beginning of April, denouncing a "disloyal and scandalous relentlessness".

His ex-partner didn't want to be heard

Julien Bayou had already had to give up directing EELV after initial accusations from his ex-partner made in an email sent in July 2022 to the internal unit of EELV on sexist violence and sexual relations (CVSS).

But she never wanted to be heard by the cell, and no complaint had been filed nor any judicial investigation opened.

"For months, my client’s presumption of innocence has been violated, and he has suffered real harassment […]. The current investigation will allow him to present all the elements proving his innocence" reacted Julien Bayou’s lawyer, Me Marie Dosé, contacted by the AFP.

For her, a "accord" on real estate "negotiated over several months by lawyers and concluded before a notary, cannot be qualified as "an abuse of weakness"".

And add: "A fortiori when the so-called victim of "abuse" lived there for two years without paying rent, ranks among the 5 % of French people in highest income but finds it "unbalanced having to pay half the property tax on a house she lives in alone".

An investigation in 2022

At the beginning of March, Ms. Leleux had also filed a complaint "for failure to assist a person in danger", targeting "a certain number of activists and executives of the EELV party", who have ’not reacted".

She also felt that the CVSS protocol had "put her in danger".

For Me Dosé, Mr. Bayou's lawyer, this internal investigation constitutes "a call for denunciation sent by the party to thousands of & rsquo;members and ex-members, blithely violating his presumption of innocence and his private life".

Julien Bayou "recalls that the previous investigation (in any case presented as such) (editor's note: from 2022) lasted seven months without leading to nothing", according to the lawyer.

Also contacted by the AFP, Me My-Kim Yang-Paya, Ms. Leleux's lawyer, estimated that "it’is good that a rapid response was given to these complaints" and clarified that his client had been heard "quickly" by investigators.