The new mayor of Paris, Emmanuel Grégoire, has promised to treat the alleged abuse of children in dozens of state nursery and primary schools in Paris as an “absolute priority” amid growing outrage from parents and the public.
Child protection officers carried out a wave of arrests last month, “dramatically accelerating the authorities’ response to a scandal that has shaken the French capital and undermined faith in its schools”, said France 24.
‘It’s a massive scandal’
The focus of the police investigation are so-called “monitors” in the capital’s after-school care system. They are not employed directly by schools or the education ministry but recruited by city or local authorities “often without training or professional diplomas and increasingly on a casual basis, with many paid by the hour”, said The Guardian.
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Prosecutors have been examining more than 100 allegations of mistreatment, physical violence and rape of children as young as three by monitors during lunch breaks, nap times and after-school activities.
“We have investigations under way in 84 pre-schools, about 20 primary schools and about 10 daycare centres,” said Paris’ top prosecutor, Laure Beccuau. The number of institutions being investigated represents roughly one in six of such places in the French capital.
In late May, a 35-year-old man became the first person to go on public trial related to the after-school abuse scandal. He is accused of sexually assaulting five children aged between three and five at the Alphonse-Baudin pre-school in Paris’ 11th arrondissement.
“It’s a massive scandal,” said Florian Lastelle, a lawyer for three Parisian families who have filed police complaints over the alleged abuse of their children. “The state school system is a source of pride in this country, but unfortunately in France today it’s not possible to say that the public service guarantees children’s safety.”
#MeTooEcole
While the authorities are only now taking action, parents’ groups have been fighting for years for the allegations to be taken seriously.
Leading the charge is the #MeTooEcole collective, set up to support families who “found themselves faced with protocols that were deemed non-existent or inadequate, blurred responsibilities between institutions, schools and extra-curricular activities, and a profound sense of abandonment”, said Euronews.
Grégoire, the city’s new Socialist mayor who suffered sexual abuse in primary school during an after-school swimming club, has struck a “more conciliatory tone” than his predecessor Anne Hidalgo, acknowledging a “systemic” problem and apologising to parents on behalf of the city, said France 24.
As well as announcing dozens of suspensions and vowing better vetting of people who apply to be after-school monitors and improved training for recruits, he has also agreed to set up a cross-party inquiry and convene an assembly of parents tasked with exploring ways to improve child protection and rethink after-school hours.
“I know there is a clear breakdown of trust in the state school system,” he told the municipal council. “But we will get there; we have no choice.”
