French police carried out a wave of arrests over suspicions of child abuse at schools in central Paris on Wednesday, dramatically accelerating the authorities’ response to a scandal that has shaken the French capital and undermined faith in its schools. Officers from the Brigade de protection des mineurs, a child protection unit, detained 16 people with links to a nursery school in the 7th arrondissement (district) of Paris, one of several establishments rocked by allegations of child abuse in the capital’s after-school care system, known as périscolaire. The suspects were held on an array of charges including “rape of minors”, “sexual assault of minors” and “violence against minors”, according to the public prosecutor’s office. Several had already been suspended from their jobs following multiple reports of abuse and the airing of a documentary that contained scenes of violence filmed using a hidden camera.
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© France 24
The arrests come as the authorities face intense pressure from distraught parents who accuse monitors in charge of children outside the classroom – such as during recess or before pick-up – of mistreating or abusing pupils in their care. On Sunday, the city’s top prosecutor Laure Beccuau said investigators were looking into allegations of abuse by non-teaching staff at 84 nursery schools and around 20 primary schools – roughly one in six such institutions in the French capital. Beccuau said the allegations concerned all 20 districts of Paris, whose incoming mayor Emmanuel Grégoire has promised to treat the scandal as his “absolute priority”. 'Breakdown of trust’ The prosecutor’s dizzying numbers come as little surprise to Barka Zerouali, a co-founder of parents’ collective #MeTooEcoles, who says families’ complaints have long been ignored by city officials, the police or both. “I fear it’s only the beginning, because I know of many families who are yet to hear back from the authorities,” Zerouali said on FRANCE 24. “We’re not just angry – we’re outraged. It feels like we’ve been talking to the wind.” The term “périscolaire” refers to the supervision of children outside classroom hours, including lunch breaks, naps and after-school care. Unlike teachers, who are hired by the education ministry, staff in the périscolaire are recruited by city officials, often on temporary postings that offer low pay and require only minimal training. Grégoire, the city’s new Socialist mayor, has announced dozens of suspensions and pledged to stamp out the violence. He has vowed better vetting of people who apply to be after-school monitors, and improved training for recruits, including on how to report suspected mistreatment.
