He later caused minor damage to a Banque de France branch by setting that alight.He told French news channel LCI that Mr Griveaux was only the first politician that he would target: he had only just begun, he claimed. "No-one should be subjected to such abuse," said Mr Griveaux, 42.The video, showing a man in a compromising position, quickly spread on social media late on Thursday.Petr Pavlensky, who sought asylum from Russia in 2017, said he had posted the video online.Opponents from across the political spectrum voiced their outrage. It appears Griveaux and the woman were exchanging messages and photographs.The 42-year-old former spokesman for Macron’s government and his wife have three children and he has often mentioned them during his mayoral election campaign.
He said he would be the mayor of Paris families and citing the example of his wife and children, while doing the opposite,” said Petr Pavlensky. Nobody should ever be subjected to this kind of abuse,” Griveaux said in a statement after a crisis meeting at his Paris campaign headquarters.“For more than a year, my family and I have been subjected to defamatory remarks, lies, rumours, anonymous attacks, the revelation of stolen private conversations and death threats. Lawyer Marie-Anne Soubré told a French talk show she was sick to her stomach that France had got to this point. Incumbent Mayor Anne Hidalgo appealed for respect for people's private lives, while far-left leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon condemned the attack as "odious". Politicians had to be honest and he said he would carry on fighting the "propaganda and puritanism of politicians".French media have traditionally avoided prying into the private lives of people in public life and a number of figures referred distastefully to the "Americanisation" of politics. “La République en Marche is strong.
These are external links and will open in a new window Griveaux has not disputed that he sent the messages.Griveaux was elected to parliament representing LREM in 2017 after Macron became president. This goes too far As if all this was not enough, yesterday a new level was reached.” Griveaux has received support since he withdrew from the race from politicians including the prime minister, Edouard Philippe, plus others who would more usually be his opponent. The laws mean any intrusion into a person’s personal or “intimate” life is, in serious cases, punishable by fines and prison sentences.Olivia Grégoire, a LREM MP, told journalists outside Griveaux’s campaign headquarters that the candidate had made the decision to stand down alone.“It’s the decision of a free man. I'm not prepared to expose my family and myself any more when all these attacks are allowed. A link to the site was shared by an MP who was forced to resign from Mr Macron's LREM (Republic on the Move) party in late 2018.Mr Griveaux told the BFMTV news channel that for the past year he and his family had been subjected to "defamatory remarks, lies, rumours, anonymous attacks... and even death threats". It then alleged that Mr Griveaux had exchanged intimate mobile phone messages with a young woman and sent her a personal video. A video and text messages to a young woman purportedly from Griveaux, whose campaign has been struggling against rivals including the Socialist incumbent, The video shows a man performing a sex act on himself accompanied by the message “Me this morning when I wake up”. Benjamin Griveaux, who was standing for party of President Macron, lambasts ‘vile attacks’Emmanuel Macron’s candidate for mayor of Paris in next month’s municipal elections has been forced to stand down after the leak of sexual images and messages online, blaming what he called “vile” attacks on his private life on social media.Benjamin Griveaux, who was standing for the president’s governing centrist La République En Marche (LREM) party, made the announcement on Friday morning less than 48 hours after the material was first posted to a website.“My family does not deserve this.