Former French minister on trial for rape during foot massage sessions

A former French minister in the Sarkozy administration dubbed “the Chinese masseur” stood trial on Tuesday accused of raping two former female employees during reflexology sessions in his municipal office.

Georges Tron, 61, is accused, with the complicity of his former culture assistant Brigitte Gruel, of practicing “plant reflexology” on two ex-employees at the town hall of the southern Paris suburb of Draveil that quickly morphed into sexual assault including digital penetration.

The two defendants, who both denied any wrongdoing, risk a maximum 20 years in prison if found guilty of "gang rape".

The plaintiffs said they felt powerless to resist being groped as they were afraid of losing their jobs. One of them later resigned, while the other was fired over accusations of theft.

The pair separately tried to commit suicide before filing police complaints against Mr Tron and Ms Gruel, according to Le Monde newspaper.

The trial comes a decade after the alleged events and more than seven years after the eruption of the scandal, which came to light in the wake of the Dominique Strauss-Kahn affair and which cost Mr Tron his ministerial post.

In court, Mr Tron - who denies wrongdoing - said he was “deeply affected, wounded” by the charges.

“I have always said I’m totally innocent. I have never been violent towards anyone at all,” he said.

His assistant told judges: “I have fallen prey to political revenge, jealousy” orchestrated by the plaintiffs and “political enemies” - namely the far-Right Front National.

Investigating magistrates had initially called for the case to be quashed but an appeals court in 2014 ruled it should go to trial after five other women came forward to describe similar alleged coercive sexual practices in a threesome.

It had been scheduled to take place last December just weeks after the Harvey Weinstein affair broke in America.

However, it was postponed after the presiding judge was overheard telling lawyers that he "wished a woman was hearing the case".

It is set to run until November 16 with a new judge, also male.