The 55-year-old man is the subject of two complaints from former employees. A preliminary investigation was opened in 2018.
This Tuesday, the president of the University of Tours Philippe Vendrix was taken into custody and heard all day in the premises of the judicial police of Tours. In 2018, a preliminary investigation opened in 2018 after two of his former employees filed a complaint for acts of sexual and moral harassment. He left the premises of the judicial police the same evening, and “completely denies the accusations“According to the University of Tours, joined by Le Figaro, which confirms information from our colleagues in Europe 1.
Former collaborators
The first complaint against the president of the university dates back to 2018, and another has been filed since, both concerning psychological and sexual harassment. In both cases, they are former employees, a director of communications and a director of general services, who had already left their posts when they lodged a complaint.
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For a year and a half, several collaborators of the president of the university had testified before the judicial police within the framework of the preliminary investigation, before Philippe Vendrix himself was summoned on Tuesday. He visited the PJ premises along with six university staff, also heard, including a director of service, a vice-president and assistants.
Presidential elections
At 9 a.m. on Wednesday morning, Philippe Vendrix was back at university and gave a press conference to deny the facts as a whole. “I have returned to my usual work, I continue to process files, even the most urgent“, He explained to France Blue. The public prosecutor called for “the greatest caution“In the dossier and recalled the need to”respect the presumption of innocence“.
For its part, the university’s communications department sent an internal email to its students to report the facts and recall that the president had “trust in justice“And waited”a quick conclusion“. A wish all the stronger that the elections for the president of the university will take place next April 2.
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