Former French Senator Joël Guerriau on Trial for Drugging Female National Assembly Member To Sexually Abuse Her

 

Guerriau says it was ‘an accident’ – Wiki Commons

Have the romantic French turned into a nation of date-rapists?

France has an epidemic of ‘drug-facilitated sexual assault’, and it seems not even powerful women in elected office are safe from it.

A former senator is on trial for allegedly slipping MDMA into the drink of a female member of the National Assembly to sexually abuse her.

Associated Press reported:

“Joël Guerriau, 68, is accused of putting the drug MDMA, known as ecstasy, in a glass of champagne he served to lawmaker Sandrine Josso in November 2023. He has admitted serving her a drink spiked with MDMA but says it was an accident.”

The translation from the French could also read: ‘I’m still afraid of him.’

Sandrine Josso has been outspoken about the case, leading to Guerriau’s two-day trial that started today (26).

He has been charged with the ‘use and possession of drugs’, and with ‘secretly administering a discernment-altering substance to commit a rape or sexual assault’.

“According to Josso, a centrist member of parliament, the center-right senator invited her to his apartment in Paris for what she believed to be a reelection celebration. Josso had known Guerriau for years and considered him as a friend.

Josso said she started feeling unwell quickly after drinking champagne, with heart palpitations and her body shivering. She headed out, took a taxi and went to a hospital, where a substantial quantity of MDMA was found in a blood test, far higher than the level typical of recreational use.”

Former senator Joël Guerriau will appear in court on Monday accused of drugging French MP Sandrine Josso at his home in Paris with the intention of sexually assaulting or raping her pic.twitter.com/lq7XjqZzKJ

— FRANCE 24 English (@France24_en) January 26, 2026

Guerriau, who says he got the drug from ‘another senator’ whom he refused to name ‘to battle depression and anxiety’, told the court that he made a ‘very serious mistake’ that caused him to serve Josso the drugged drink.

“’I feel really sorry for Sandrine, that’s something I never wanted … I hope someday she’ll forgive me’, he said.

He said he put some of the white powder in a glass meant for himself, but didn’t take it. The next day, he offered the glass to Josso by mistake.”