Secretary of State Chrysoula Zacharopoulou under investigation after two rape complaints – Liberation

The government of Elisabeth BornedossierThe facts would have taken place in 2016, within the framework of the profession of the member of the government, gynecologist in the city. It would be about penetrations operated during medical examinations without having obtained the consent of the patients.An investigation was opened after two complaints for rape filed against the Secretary of State, Chrysoula Zacharopoulou, in charge of Development, Francophonie and international partnerships. Gynecologist by profession, she is accused of facts that would have taken place within the framework of her profession, in 2016, against an adult woman, indicates this Wednesday a source close to the file to Marianne. It would be about penetrations operated during medical examinations without having obtained the consent of the patients, yet enshrined in the so-called Kouchner law of March 4, 2002. The first complaint was filed on May 25 and an investigation was opened two days later. later by the Paris prosecutor’s office, to “determine whether the facts are likely to fall within the scope of a criminal qualification”. She was entrusted to the Brigade for the repression of delinquency against the person (BRDP). The second complaint was filed on June 16. A third woman, Jade (first name changed), now 26 and living in the Paris region, told AFP on Wednesday that she consulted Chrysoula Zacharopoulou for problems endometriosis, which this 46-year-old Franco-Greek gynecologist has made her specialty. The appointment, made with the specialist for her fame and specifically because she is a woman, took place at the end of 2016 in the presence of a male medical intern. According to Jade’s account, the gynecologist “forced her intern to listen to me”. When the patient’s feet were in the stirrups, the medical specialist “felt that I was not at all comfortable, he was not at all comfortable either, my body was closed, blocked , he felt it, ”she described. “Then it was her turn. She said to me, using familiar terms: ”You’re going to have to open. Me, I’m not him. She was trying, trying, she was not happy at all, and I was very nervous, tense and blocked, ”she said. The young woman said she did not remember if the gynecologist had obtained her consent. before auscultating it, as a growing number of practitioners do today. Jade, who says she experienced this event “at least as a sexual assault”, has not filed a complaint at this stage. “I thought no one would believe me, but today it’s different,” she said, adding that she “hesitates” to do so.Sonia Bisch, founder of StopVOGfr, told the AFP that her collective against obstetric and gynecological violence had “received three testimonies” concerning her, dating from 2013, 2016 and 2020, evoking “gynecological violence […] from three other patients who did not file a complaint.” Born in Sparta, Chrysoula Zacharopoulou studied in Italy before practicing in France, at the Bégin military hospital in Saint-Mandé (Val-de-Marne) then at the Hospitals of Paris (AP-HP), in particular in Tenon in the service of Pr Émile Daraï, under investigation for accusations of rape. Asked by AFP, the AP-HP replied that it had “never heard of a complaint or report concerning Dr Chrysoula Zacharopoulou”. “The CHU set up a commission of inquiry at the end of September 2021 following accusations concerning Professor Émile Daraï”, a renowned Parisian gynecologist targeted by several complaints, and “particular attention was paid to the reporting and processing of patient complaints”, specified the AP-HP. The challenge for justice will be to see if these non-consensual medical acts can receive criminal qualification. In the case of Émile Daraï, a judicial investigation is opened for violence by a person responsible for a public service mission. Taking “completely into consideration the complaints of women”, Joëlle Beaisch Allart, president of the National College of French Gynecologists and Obstetricians , told AFP that she was “very worried about the current use of the word rape to qualify medical examinations, in particular gynecological examinations, without the slightest sexual intention”. Chrysoula Zacharopoulou – elected in 2019 on the Renaissance list in the European Parliament, where she notably sat on the women’s rights commission – is a doctor who has been involved for a long time in the issue of endometriosis. She had submitted a report on the subject to the French government last year. The specialist entered the government at the end of May as Secretary of State for Development, La Francophonie and International Partnerships, to the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs. For the moment, she spoke on Twitter on Wednesday of a trip to Brussels without reacting to these revelations and did not respond to AFP. Several ministers are accused of sexual violence, like Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin , targeted by a rape complaint, initially dismissed, then relaunched and for which the prosecution requested a dismissal in early 2022. More recently, the Minister of Solidarity Damien Abad was accused of rape. The Paris prosecutor’s office has indicated that it is not opening a preliminary investigation “as is”. Update: at 9:03 p.m. with the testimony of Jade, Sonia Bisch, founder of StopVOGfr and statements from the AP -HP.