A former French government minister faces at least three years in prison after a court found him guilty of raping an employee during "foot massages" in his office and at the home of his co-defendant. The verdict has come after nearly ten years of legal battles that initially led to an acquittal.

Georges Tron, 63, was a cabinet minister under prime minister Francois Fillon when he was forced to resign in 2011 over allegations made by two women who worked for him while he was mayor of Draveil, outside Paris.

France has been confronting a wave of sexual assault allegations that has pushed the government to promise tougher laws to protect victims and punish assailants. The country has been roiled by thousands of women breaking their silence since last year's publication of "Consent" by Vanessa Springora, whose account of abuse by a prize-winning author while she was still a minor has just been translated to English.

The women said that between 2007 and 2010, Tron, known for practising reflexology as a hobby, imposed foot massage sessions that would involve groping and digital penetration, at times turning into threesomes with his deputy Brigitte Gruel.

Virginie Ettel and Eva Loubrieu testified that they felt powerless to resist the politician over fear of losing their jobs. Ettel later resigned, while Loubrieu was fired after being accused of theft.

But the court convicted Tron of raping only Ettel, saying he had applied "psychological constraint" because she was his direct subordinate at city hall.

Gruel was handed a suspended two-year sentence.

Tron and Gruel deny the allegations, which were rejected just over two years ago by a court that found no use of force and said the women appeared motivated by a desire for "vengeance." Tron's lawyer at the time, Eric Dupond-Moretti, had declared "a victory for justice."

(with inputs from AFP)

A former French government minister faces at least three years in prison after a court found him guilty of raping an employee during "foot massages" in his office and at the home of his co-defendant.

A former French government minister faces at least three years in prison after a court found him guilty of raping an employee during "foot massages" in his office and at the home of his co-defendant. The verdict has come after nearly ten years of legal battles that initially led to an acquittal. Georges Tron, 63, was a cabinet minister under prime minister Francois Fillon when he was forced to resign in 2011 over allegations made by two women who worked for him while he was mayor of Draveil, outside Paris. France has been confronting a wave of sexual assault allegations that has pushed the government to promise tougher laws to protect victims and punish assailants. The country has been roiled by thousands of women breaking their silence since last year's publication of "Consent" by Vanessa Springora, whose account of abuse by a prize-winning author while she was still a minor has just been translated to English. The women said that between 2007 and 2010, Tron, known for practising reflexology as a hobby, imposed foot massage sessions that would involve groping and digital penetration, at times turning into threesomes with his deputy Brigitte Gruel. Virginie Ettel and Eva Loubrieu testified that they felt powerless to resist the politician over fear of losing their jobs. Ettel later resigned, while Loubrieu was fired after being accused of theft. But the court convicted Tron of raping only Ettel, saying he had applied "psychological constraint" because she was his direct subordinate at city hall. Gruel was handed a suspended two-year sentence. Tron and Gruel deny the allegations, which were rejected just over two years ago by a court that found no use of force and said the women appeared motivated by a desire for "vengeance." Tron's lawyer at the time, Eric Dupond-Moretti, had declared "a victory for justice." (with inputs from AFP)

Former French minister convicted of rape

Former French budget minister Jerome Cahuzac, whose brief in government was to crack down on&nbsp;tax&nbsp;dodgers, was sentenced to three years in prison on Thursday for&nbsp;tax&nbsp;fraud and money laundering.

Cahuzac&#39;s ex-wife Patricia Menard was given a two-year prison sentence for her role in stashing millions of euros abroad from the couple&#39;s lucrative hair transplant business.

The Paris court also gave Francois Reyl, a Swiss banker, a one-year suspended prison sentence and fined him 375,000 euros ($405,000) for assisting the couple.

His bank, Reyl, was fined 1.87 million euros for money laundering.

Cahuzac, a 64-year-old plastic surgeon, had admitted in evidence that he hid funds offshore to maintain his family&#39;s standard of living -- which included buying apartments for his children in London and Paris and paying for holidays in Mauritius.

The scandal was the first of a series that tarnished Socialist President Francois Hollande&#39;s government and prompted him to order his ministers to disclose their personal wealth, a first in France, where the wealth of public officials had long been considered a private matter.

Like a crime novel

The story of the fraud, which took place between 1992 and 2013, reads like a cross between a cheap airport novel and an international financial crime manual.

In one episode, Cahuzac, using the codename &quot;Birdie&quot;, was said to have received two cash payments of 10,000 euros on the streets of Paris.

The couple used a Royal Bank of Scotland account in the Isle of Man, an offshore financial centre in the Irish Sea, to channel cheques from English clients of their business.

Cahuzac initially denied the allegations and sued the Mediapart news website that broke the story in 2012.

Footage of the minister lying to parliament was repeated in an endless loop on French media after he finally confessed in April 2013, &quot;consumed by remorse&quot;, to having a Swiss bank account.

By the end of the trial, Cahuzac had repeatedly admitted his &quot;inexcusable wrongdoing&quot;.

As the couple&#39;s marriage began to falter, Menard also opened an account in Switzerland.

Menard&#39;s lawyer Sebastien Schapira told the trial the money was &quot;that of fraud, but initially it was that of her work, earned day after day, hour after hour, hair by hair&quot;.

He described Menard as &quot;naive&quot; and an unwitting accomplice who was &quot;swept up&quot; in the fraud before confessing in December 2013.

She testified that the couple had become locked in a &quot;spiral&quot; of wrongdoing.

&quot;I&#39;m extremely ashamed of having done all that,&quot; she said.

(AFP)

Jerome Cahuzac has been jailed for three years after he admitted that he hid funds offshore to maintain his family's standard of living

Former French budget minister Jerome Cahuzac, whose brief in government was to crack down on tax dodgers, was sentenced to three years in prison on Thursday for tax fraud and money laundering. Cahuzac's ex-wife Patricia Menard was given a two-year prison sentence for her role in stashing millions of euros abroad from the couple's lucrative hair transplant business. The Paris court also gave Francois Reyl, a Swiss banker, a one-year suspended prison sentence and fined him 375,000 euros ($405,000) for assisting the couple. His bank, Reyl, was fined 1.87 million euros for money laundering. Cahuzac, a 64-year-old plastic surgeon, had admitted in evidence that he hid funds offshore to maintain his family's standard of living -- which included buying apartments for his children in London and Paris and paying for holidays in Mauritius. The scandal was the first of a series that tarnished Socialist President Francois Hollande's government and prompted him to order his ministers to disclose their personal wealth, a first in France, where the wealth of public officials had long been considered a private matter. Like a crime novel The story of the fraud, which took place between 1992 and 2013, reads like a cross between a cheap airport novel and an international financial crime manual. In one episode, Cahuzac, using the codename "Birdie", was said to have received two cash payments of 10,000 euros on the streets of Paris. The couple used a Royal Bank of Scotland account in the Isle of Man, an offshore financial centre in the Irish Sea, to channel cheques from English clients of their business. Cahuzac initially denied the allegations and sued the Mediapart news website that broke the story in 2012. Footage of the minister lying to parliament was repeated in an endless loop on French media after he finally confessed in April 2013, "consumed by remorse", to having a Swiss bank account. By the end of the trial, Cahuzac had repeatedly admitted his "inexcusable wrongdoing". As the couple's marriage began to falter, Menard also opened an account in Switzerland. Menard's lawyer Sebastien Schapira told the trial the money was "that of fraud, but initially it was that of her work, earned day after day, hour after hour, hair by hair". He described Menard as "naive" and an unwitting accomplice who was "swept up" in the fraud before confessing in December 2013. She testified that the couple had become locked in a "spiral" of wrongdoing. "I'm extremely ashamed of having done all that," she said. (AFP)

France: Ex-minister who tackled tax evasion jailed for tax fraud

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Former French minister convicted of rape

France: Ex-minister who tackled tax evasion jailed for tax fraud