A few days before the first round of the legislative elections, these images risk harming the candidate. On Sunday, June 5, Reconquest Candidate! in the Alpes-Maritimes, Damien Rieu, shared a video on Twitter in which we see a young man sniffing white powder in the evening, as explained by our colleagues from Center Presse Aveyron. Above this same video, viewed several hundred thousand times, the activist asks if it is indeed Léon Thébault, candidate Nupes in the 1st district of Aveyron.
Good evening @LeonThebault is it you on this video?
“Yes, I am aware of the publication of this video and since then I have suffered a wave of harassment, threats,” explains the 21-year-old candidate, interviewed by the regional daily. “This video is old. It dates from when I was in first grade. We were at a party with friends, and it wasn’t about drugs but about a crushed Doliprane, reduced to powder. It’s the kind of stupid things you can do when you’re a teenager and in parties, “he justifies.
If he admits to being the boy in the video, he however deplores the methods of Damien Rieu, with his 125,000 subscribers, and threatens to file a complaint. “With the publication of this video, we see what the far right is capable of smearing the other candidates. […] In any case, this does not call into question my commitment. I will continue my campaign. Above all, I will consult the authorities of my party at the national and local level, and I reserve the right to file a complaint for defamation. »
