Macron's Paris Mayor Candidate Quits Race Amid Sex Scandal

Benjamin Griveaux, the candidate of the French president's party for Paris mayorship, said Friday he would quit the race to protect his family from a sex scandal he was caught up in

PARIS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 14th February, 2020) Benjamin Griveaux, the candidate of the French president's party for Paris mayorship, said Friday he would quit the race to protect his family from a sex scandal he was caught up in.

The announcement comes less than a day after the online publication of a sex video and intimate messages that he allegedly shared with a young woman.

"My family does not deserve this. No one should suffer such abuse...

This has gone too far. That is why I have decided to withdraw my candidature from the Paris municipal election," he said on BMF TV.

The leak has been attributed to Petr Pavlensky, a Russian performance artist who was given asylum in France in 2017 and set fire to the building of the French central bank the same year.

Anne Hidalgo, the sitting mayor of Paris, sided with the former spokesman for Emmanuel Macron's administration, calling for respect of private life and the due democratic process.