French MP Jean-Christophe Lagarde, president of the Union of Democrats and Independents (UDI), was arrested this week after being accused of possessing undeclared weapons.
Lagarde, who serves as an MP for the notorious Paris no-go suburbs of Seine-Saint-Denis, was taken into custody on Wednesday night at this home in Drancy and held overnight by police in the commune of Bobigny after members of his family claimed to police that the MP expressed a desire to end his own life.
The relatives told police at around 1 am that Lagarde was also armed and police stated that on the way to the home of the MP, a “detonation” could be heard, broadcaster Europe1 reports.
When police arrived, they found Mr Lagarde unharmed and located two pistols in the home. Lagarde claimed he owned both weapons legally and that he used them for sport shooting. More undeclared weapons were, however, later discovered in a safe.
Citing the concerns over the MP’s mental well-being by his relatives, the Bobigny prosecutor chose to take Lagarde into custody overnight.
According to the newspaper Le Parisien, Lagarde was released from custody on Thursday morning. One of his party colleagues told the paper that Lagarde had been “not in good shape” and was dealing with issues in his private life.
The paper also notes that Lagarde is under investigation by the National Financial Prosecutor’s Office (PNF) after a complaint regarding embezzlement against the parliamentary assistant of Largarde’s wife, Aude Lavail-Lagarde, who succeeded him as Mayor of Drancy in 2017.
Earlier this year, Le Figaro reported that Lagarde was planning on running for the French presidency next year and told French media, “I’m the only one with the ideas, the party, the money, the local elected officials, the signatures, and I don’t see the point in following someone. I don’t see any good reason not to be a candidate.”
Recent polls have shown that the presidential race is tied between current President Emmanuel Macron and populist National Rally leader Marine Le Pen.