When Emmanuel Macron was elected French president in May 2017, he vowed to break with the old political establishment and initiate change. To prove his commitment to that promise, Macron made Agnes Buzyn his new health minister the following day.

Buzyn had not risen through the party ranks, but had made a name for herself as the head of the French National Cancer Institute, and thereafter as the president of the French High Health Authority (HAS). Now, however, at the height of the Coronavirus outbreak, Buzyn will step down from her post because Macron’s party, La République en Marche (LREM), needs her to deal with an even more urgent matter.

Buzyn is now running for Paris mayor. Why? Because the party’s original candidate, Benjamin Griveaux, was forced to quit following the publication of a video apparently showing him engaged in a sexual act. Griveaux’s resignation is a political disaster for LREM with the French municipal elections due in March this year.

Griveaux, previously a Socialist Party lawmaker, became one of Macron’s closest allies, helping him get elected and then serving as government spokesperson. Not everyone in LREM, however, supported his bid to run for Paris mayor. Eccentric mathematician Cedric Villani, for example, also intended to run for the office, but was thrown out of the party in January in an effort to boost Griveaux’s chances of winning.

Several explanations for this awkward political situation have been making the rounds lately. What is beyond question, however, is that a video has been circulating on Twitter since Thursday depicting a man – believed to be Griveaux – masturbating. Speaking to French broadcaster BFMTV, Griveaux said, “For more than a year, my family and I have been subjected to slander, lies, rumors, anonymous attacks […] and death threats.”

But Griveaux did not deny the authenticity of the video in question. Independent investigative platform Médiapart has also reported that Griveaux, who is married, sent risqué text messages to another woman. (Agency report)

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