ISTANBUL

A French court on Monday found Saint-Etienne Mayor Gael Perdriau “fully guilty” in a sensational sex tape blackmail case that has shaken local politics for more than three years.

The Lyon criminal court sentenced him to four years in prison and issued a five-year ban on holding public office, effective immediately, according to French news broadcaster BFM TV.

Perdriau, who has repeatedly denied the accusations, was convicted of blackmail, embezzlement, misappropriation of public funds and participation in a criminal organization.

The trial centered on accusations that Perdriau orchestrated a covert operation to neutralize his political rival, Gilles Artigues, by obtaining compromising images to undermine his ambitions for the mayor’s office.

Prosecutors said Perdriau used the intimate footage for years to pressure and silence Artigues, who was also his former deputy.

The blackmail only ended in 2022, when investigative outlet Mediapart exposed the scheme, triggering immediate public and political fallout.

Despite his claim of innocence, he was expelled from the Republicans (LR) and later resigned from his metropolitan-level responsibilities. He, however, refused to give up the mayoral seat, prompting around 10 members of his majority to resign.

The court noted Perdriau’s own words from last September, when he publicly vowed to give up his mandates “if the slightest guilt was found.”

Beyond the blackmail charges, Perdriau remains under investigation for misappropriation of municipal funds, accused of diverting approximately €40,000 ($46,000) in subsidies to compensate those involved in the sex tape operation.