Joël Guerriau, 68, is on trial in Paris after being charged with secretly administering a controlled substance to Sandrine Josso, a member of the French National Assembly. Prosecutors allege he put MDMA, a psychoactive drug, into a glass of champagne he served to Josso during what she believed was a private election‑night celebration.
According to courtroom testimony and media interviews, Josso, 50, began feeling unwell shortly after drinking the champagne. She experienced severe symptoms that prompted her to leave the gathering and seek medical attention at a hospital, where tests confirmed the presence of MDMA in her system. Josso has described the experience as terrifying and has framed it publicly as a case of drug‑facilitated assault.
Guerriau, who has acknowledged that he served a drink containing MDMA, denies any intention to harm Josso. His defense lawyers have argued that the incident was a 'handling error,' claiming Guerriau originally mixed the drug for himself while going through a period of depression and accidentally served it to her instead.
The charges against Guerriau include possession and use of drugs as well as the administration of a substance to facilitate sexual assault which under French law can carry sentences of up to 10 years for drug‑related offenses and five years for drug‑facilitated assault. He resigned his Senate seat in October 2025 amid mounting political pressure, though his lawyers have insisted his resignation was unrelated to the trial.
This case has reignited public debate in France about drug‑facilitated sexual violence and consent discussions that were previously brought into sharp focus by the Pélicot trial, a widely covered case in which more than 50 men were convicted of repeatedly raping a woman while she was unconscious after being drugged by her then‑husband.
That trial helped galvanize calls for legal reform and contributed to the adoption in October 2025 of expanded rape laws that define non‑consensual sexual acts more broadly.
Rania Umutoni
