Despite his five-year prison sentence for blackmail and embezzlement, Gaël Perdriau is trying to place his loyalists in Saint-Étienne's city hall. A special municipal council elected his first deputy as successor amid tensions over the transition. Perdriau, who has appealed the verdict, chaired a key meeting just before resigning.
Saint-Étienne held a special municipal council on Thursday, December 11, to appoint a successor to Gaël Perdriau, who has been mayor since 2014 and president of the metropolis. Convicted on December 1 to five years in prison and five years of ineligibility for blackmail, criminal conspiracy, and embezzlement of public funds, Perdriau (ex-Les Républicains) was removed from office. This sentence is the heaviest ever given to an incumbent mayor under the Fifth Republic. He appealed immediately.
The judge had told him that morning he could no longer serve as mayor. Hours later, before submitting his resignation, Perdriau chaired a four-hour meeting with his municipal majority to discuss selecting his replacement. As expected, Jean-Pierre Berger, his first deputy (independent right), was elected during the special council. This swift transition barely conceals Perdriau's lingering influence and the internal conflicts he sparked on the day of his conviction.
Despite his downfall, the former mayor appears intent on shaping municipal affairs by promoting his allies in city hall. The case highlights power struggles within the local right-wing, as the city grapples with the fallout from this unprecedented scandal.