French health minister to run for Paris mayor
February 17, 2020
French President Emmanuel Macron moved quickly to draft in Health Minister Agnes Buzyn as his party's candidate for Paris mayor on Sunday after his previous nominee stood down following a sex tape scandal.
Buzyn, a leading hematologist and prominent health administrator, has four weeks to try and make up ground with the municipal elections taking place on March 15.
Meanwhile, Macron's office announced 57-year-old Buzyn would be replaced as health minister by Olivier Veran, a 39-year-old lawmaker and neurologist from Grenoble.
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Arrests made after sex tape leak
In the Paris mayoral bid, Buzyn replaces Macron confidant Benjamin Griveaux, who pulled out last week after intimate videos and private messages he allegedly sent to a third party were posted on the internet.
Griveaux was already trailing in opinion polls behind outgoing Socialist Mayor Anne Hidalgo, 60, and conservative Rachida Dati, 54, when he abandoned his bid on Friday after he allegedly sent images of his genitals to a woman who was not his wife. He subsequently filed a complaint with police.
French police in turn arrested a couple, Russian protest artist Piotr Pavlensky and his partner, implicated in the leaking of the sex tape that ended Griveaux's campaign.
French revenge porn law stipulates that the publishing of pornographic images without the consent of the originator is punishable by up to two years in prison along with a fine of €60,000 ($65,000).
jsi/nm (AP, Reuters, dpa)
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