Overview

• After a week of testimony in Lyon, the court heard victims’ lawyers urge no leniency for Mayor Gaël Perdriau ahead of the prosecutor’s requisitions.
• Perdriau is on trial with former aides on charges including blackmail, criminal association and diversion of public funds, with up to ten years in prison and possible ineligibility at stake.
• Three ex-collaborators acknowledged organizing the covert filming of then–deputy Gilles Artigues, and witnesses described about €40,000 routed through local associations to finance the operation.
• A 2017 recording played in court captured Perdriau referencing a USB drive with compromising images and threatening limited dissemination, undercutting his denials.
• Perdriau has said he would resign if convicted; the defense is due to argue through Tuesday, and the decision is expected to be placed under deliberation.