German Reporter Accuses Former French President Of Sexual Harassment

A German reporter came forward on Thursday with an allegation of sexual harassment against former French President Valery Giscard d’Estaing.

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Ann-Kathrin Stracke, a reporter for the German broadcaster WDR, told dpa that he groped her buttocks multiple times after an interview she conducted with him in Paris in December 2018.

“I’ve thought about going public with it for a long time,” she said.

The situation was “extremely degrading, extremely belittling”.

Stracke has made a criminal complaint with French authorities.

Giscard d’Estaing’s lawyer told dpa on Thursday that his client had no knowledge of a sexual harassment complaint made by a German journalist.

Jean-Marc Fedida said that Giscard d’Estaing had no recollection of the events described by Stracke and did not know anything about the legal complaint.

He said that Giscard d’Estaing himself would not comment on the accusations at the moment, but added that the former French head of state considered the whole thing to be a “particularly undignified and hurtful media attack”.

A request for comment with the Paris public prosecutor’s office regarding the criminal charges remains unanswered.

The newspapers Le Monde, and Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported that the former head of state could neither remember the situation nor the interview.

Le Monde quoted his office manager Oliver Revol as saying: “If what he (Giscard) is accused of is true, he would of course be upset, but he doesn’t remember anything.”

WDR said on its website: “On May 4, Giscard d’Estaing’s lawyer announced that the office of the former president had no knowledge of the criminal charges and would therefore not respond.”

Giscard d’Estaing, who is 94, was president of France from 1974 to 1981.