Tours, France--A French senator and former mayor of Tours, due to stand trial in a corruption case over fake Chinese wedding trips in the picturesque Loire valley city, killed himself Tuesday before the trial opened, authorities said.
Jean Germain, 67, seen as a close ally of President Francois Hollande, was found dead in the garage next to his house as the trial was due to begin, according to a police source.
"At 9:00am, neighbours heard a suspicious noise. It looks like it was a suicide with a hunting rifle," said local prosecutor Jean-Luc Beck.
Germain left a suicide note, saying he was being prosecuted "for political reasons", something he found "unbearable".
"You can be sure that I never embezzled a centime, that I did not take any money, that I always worked for what I believed to be in the best interests of the people of Tours," the note read.
A visibly moved Hollande said it was a "terrible tragedy that a man can commit suicide because he does not want his honour to be stained."
"A great elected official has died in particularly cruel circumstances," added the president.
Germain supported Hollande during his 2012 presidential campaign, advising the future president on education policy.
Prime Minister Manuel Valls said he was "overwhelmed" by the news, adding: "I have lost a friend."
The current mayor of Tours, Serge Babary, ordered the flags in the western city to be flown at half-mast, saying: "Tours is in mourning."
AFP
