Emmanuel Macron’s candidate to be the next mayor of Paris has withdrawn from the race with just weeks to go before polling day after “compromising videos” of a sexual nature emerged online.

A former spokesman for Emmanuel Macron’s government, founding En Marche! party figure Benjamin Griveaux was standing to be the next mayor of Paris in the hotly contested election due to take place from March 15th of this year. He spectacularly withdrew Friday, however, complaining of “vile attacks” and a “very clear” invasion of privacy after a video was published on a Canadian website on Wednesday.

Griveaux has previously polled strongly in the race to become the next mayor of Paris. He said Friday: “A website and social networks have launched vile attacks concerning my private life. My family does not deserve this. No one should ever be subjected to such abuse. For more than a year, my family and I have been subjected to defamatory remarks, lies, rumours, anonymous attacks, the revelation of stolen private conversations and death threats… this is going too far.”

Read more: breitbart