A reporter from Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR) accuses France’s former head of state Valéry Giscard d’Estaing of sexually molesting her. After an interview she conducted with him in Paris in December 2018, he had her buttocks repeatedly, said journalist Ann-Kathrin Stracke. For her, the situation was “extremely degrading, extremely degrading”.
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She has now filed criminal charges for sexual harassment. “I’ve been thinking about publishing it for a long time,” said the 37-year-old. First had “Southgerman newspaper“(SZ) and the French daily newspaper”Le Monde“reported the allegations.
Giscard d’Estaing claims not to remember
When asked by the Giscard d’Estaing office for an opinion of the 94-year-old, lawyer Jean-Marc Fédida told the dpa news agency: Giscard d’Estaing did not remember the events the journalist was complaining about and did not know anything about it the legal step. Giscard d’Estaing himself is currently not taking a position on the allegations.
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The ex-head of state also sees the whole thing as a “particularly unworthy and injuring media attack,” as the lawyer wrote. An inquiry to the Paris public prosecutor’s office regarding the ad has so far remained unanswered.
The “SZ” report said: “The office Giscard d’Estaings declares at the request of ‘SZ’ and ‘Le Monde’ that he cannot remember the situation or the interview. Office manager Olivier Revol said on a phone call that Giscard d’Estaing was very sorry if the allegations were correct. Revol pointed to the old age of Giscard d’Estaing. “
Revol cited the newspaper “Le Monde” as follows: “If what he was accused of (Giscard) were true, he would of course be dismayed, but he does not remember anything.” Revol also told the newspaper that, according to his own memory, it was the first time that the ex-head of state had been faced with such an accusation.
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“The WDR believes the allegations are credible”
The WDR, for its part, wrote in an article on the corporate side: “On May 4, Giscard d’Estaing’s lawyer announced that the former president’s office had no knowledge of the criminal complaint and would therefore make no response.”
The WDR According to the team on the day of the interview, Stracke, a cameraman and a sound assistant. “The WDR believes the allegations are credible,” it said. The cameraman confirmed the allegations.
The program director for information, fiction and entertainment, Jörg Schönenborn, said: “It deserves a lot of respect if an employee has the courage to turn not only to her superiors at WDR but also to the public after such a drastic experience.”
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Giscard d’Estaing is the oldest ex-head of state in France still alive. The liberal center politician served in the Élysée Palace from 1974 to 1981. Despite his old age, he can still be seen at events in Paris. In public, he mainly comments on EU issues.
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