Paris Mayor Emmanuel Grégoire speaks during a mental health conference in Paris on April 1, 2026. ANNA KURTH / AFP
Emmanuel Grégoire, the new mayor of the French capital, pledged to prevent sexual violence in schools and pre-schools on Friday, April 3, saying Paris had suspended more than 30 school monitors suspected of sexual abuse since January.
In Paris, school monitors recruited and trained by the city help look after children outside the classroom, including in the evening before their parents can pick them up. Paris authorities are under intense scrutiny from associations and parental groups following allegations that abusers slipped through the recruitment system to look after children, including nursery school pupils.
Claims of sexual abuse in schools were a central issue in the campaign leading up to last month's Paris mayoral election.
"Since the beginning of 2026, 78 staff members have been suspended, including 31 on suspicion of sexual violence," Grégoire told reporters, referring to schools and after-school facilities. "These figures must lead us to a profound, thorough reappraisal," he added. "Everything has to be reviewed from the ground up with one objective: zero tolerance."
