French MP faces sexual harassment probe after four women politicians accuse him

French judges opened an investigation on Tuesday into multiple claims of sexual harassment against former deputy parliamentary speaker Denis Baupin, as experts welcomed an end to the “omerta” around such alleged abuse by politicians.

Prime Minister Manuel Valls urged investigators to “shed full light on whatever took place”, saying sexual harassment “must be fought with the greatest force.”

Speaking on French radio, Valls rejected “intolerable machismo”, saying: “When a woman says no, it means no.”

Baupin’s wife, Housing Minister Emmanuelle Cosse, said she was shocked by the allegations made Monday by eight women, including four members of ecologist EELV party, of which she and her husband are members.

“We are talking about acts of extreme seriousness and if they are proven, it must be dealt with by the courts,” she told France Info radio.

She said she still had faith in her husband and had heard nothing of the accusations until they appeared in the media on Monday.