A Russian dissident artist who published screenshots of sexual images that forced President Emmanuel Macron’s candidate for Paris City Hall to pull out of the race was arrested in the French capital on Saturday, the prosecutor’s office said. His girlfriend, who is suspected of having received the video, has also been arrested, reports FRANCE 24.
Benjamin Griveaux, one of Macron’s closest lieutenants, abandoned his bid to become mayor of Paris on Friday after it was alleged he sent sexual images of his genitals to a woman who is not his wife. Griveaux has not disputed that he sent the messages.
The Russian artist's girlfriend was also arrested on Saturday evening on charges of invasion of privacy and publishing images of a sexual nature without consent, the Paris prosecutor's office said.
Her arrest stemmed from the release by Pavlensky of a video of a man masturbating accompanied by screengrabs of racy text messages sent to a woman.
Pavlensky claimed the messages were sent by former government spokesman Benjamin Griveaux, who was the candidate of the ruling Republic on the Move party (LREM) for Paris mayor in next month's municipal elections.
His girlfriend, who was not named by investigators, is suspected of having received the video.
Pyotr Pavlensky, who has lived in exile in France, said he had posted the sex video to expose Griveaux’s "hypocrisy".