The prosecution said the investigation was about “old” facts from 2010 that were “currently unsubstantiated”. He was handed over to the Judiciary Police, who are continuing to investigate.
According to the same source, hearings of witnesses and defendants are scheduled “in the coming weeks.”
According to BFMTV, citing the 45-year-old complainant, the alleged facts happened in a hotel in Bordeaux during the 2010 regional election campaign, where Jean LaSalle was head of the MoDem list in Aquitaine.
The 68-year-old former shepherd spent two decades in the National Assembly with the UDF, then MoDem and finally his Résistons! sat under the label of motion.
Mayor of the village of Lourdes-Icher (Pyrénées-Atlantiques) for 40 years, he was twice unsuccessfully a presidential candidate and did not represent himself in the last legislative election. He justified his decision with “medical imperatives”.
Asked by AFP, Mr. LaSalle’s entourage said they were “very surprised” to “find out about the affair on BFMTV”.
“He didn’t know, he didn’t remember this person. He didn’t see who he was,” said Pierre Claret, a former elected official and spokesman for his political movement.
“We are very worried when we see this case coming out today, which was in the news after participating in a TV program,” he said.
Jean Lassalle is a candidate for the second season of investigative drama Les Traitors, which airs on M6 from July 12.
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