The three-term senator noted that he had long planned to retire two years into his current six-year term, denying that his decision is related to his criminal case.

A French senator accused of drugging a member of parliament with the intent to sexually assault her has announced he will resign next month, despite his accuser calling the delayed departure "disgusting."

Senator Joel Guerriau, 67, faces trial for allegedly using ecstasy to spike a glass of champagne consumed by National Assembly deputy Sandrine Josso in November 2023.

Guerriau, who denies the allegations, stated he will step down from the upper chamber in early October, confirming a report first published by API News.

The three-term senator noted that he had long planned to retire two years into his current six-year term, denying that his decision is related to his criminal case.

Josso said the news, "which (Guerriau) claims is the result of a personal commitment and unrelated to the extremely serious legal case in which he is charged," left her "disgusted."

"Once again, the aggressor chooses his own schedule, his own version of the story, his own exit," the lower house deputy said in a statement. "This is not an act of responsibility or dignity. It is a strategic retreat, only months before his trial and after he has greatly benefited from the privileges of his office."

Senate President Gérard Larcher announced in July that he would refer Guerriau's case to the chamber's ethics committee, preparing for possible disciplinary action.

Guerriau had already been expelled from his party, the center-right Horizons group, after being accused of drugging Josso with the intention to rape or sexually assault her.

The senator denies intentionally drugging the deputy, describing the incident as a "handling error."

The allegations follow the high-profile case of Frenchman Dominique Pelico, who was sentenced in December to 20 years in prison for repeatedly drugging his wife so that he and strangers could rape her, a case that shocked France.