“This is libel”: Patrick Pellu reacts to Karine Lacombe’s allegations of sexual and moral harassment

He comes out of the silence. A few days after the publication of a Paris Match investigation into sexual and gender-based violence in a hospital environment, in which infectious disease specialist Karine Lacombe accuses Patrick Pella of sexual and moral harassment, an emergency doctor spoke out on his behalf on Instagram.

“I was stunned to learn from the Paris Match journalist the accusations made by C. Lacombe and the rumors contained in this article, which I categorically dispute,” the doctor wrote on the social network. “This is slander. I do not wish to react further today in order to preserve the calm of a healthy debate about sexism and sexual violence.”

In an investigation published by the magazine, Karine Lacombe recalls the scenes of sexual violence she experienced with Patrick Pellou. One day, when the intern’s back was turned, “he grabs her by the neck and rubs his lower abdomen against her: Mmm, don’t wear it like that, it’s too tempting, damn it’s hot! “,” says, for example, a doctor.

“I am describing a general attitude”

These accusations came a few months after the book was published. Women will save the hospital in which Karine Lacombe denounces, among other things, the sexist “gangrene of the system” in the hospital. In an interview with Franceinfo on Saturday, the infectious disease specialist stressed that she is targeting the profession, not just one man.

“I’m describing a general attitude, not necessarily just Patrick Pella’s,” the doctor begins. “I describe things that would now be considered sexual violence, such as touching, completely inappropriate gestures, harsh remarks that were accompanied by some kind of acts of violence (…) On the part of Patrick Pellou, as well as on the part of other doctors, we wandered around hands, but actually, in a more global sense, it’s really the overall atmosphere.”

In response to the publication of an investigation against Patrick Pelloux, the union of interns of Parisian hospitals announces the collection of testimonies from those who worked with him. “If you are a victim or a witness, do not hesitate to testify anonymously if you wish,” SIHP president Emmanuel Hay told Le Parisien on Friday.