The campaign for the second round of the Paris municipal elections has been rocked by a growing scandal over sexual abuse committed in the city’s state schools during the terms of office of Anne Hidalgo and her deputy, Emmanuel Grégoire, who is standing to succeed her. Could the scale of the allegations—revealing complicity at every level and inaction by the authorities—cost him the election?
Right-wing opposition candidates Rachida Dati and Sarah Knafo have emphasised in their campaigns for Paris mayor their commitment to reforming the way children are cared for in the capital, amid a growing number of reports of sexual assault and rape involving very young children within the school system. But the news is struggling to gain traction, with the media slower to pick up on the story than when it was denouncing scandals linked to Catholic education.
Yet, the matter is serious, and the figures speak for themselves: 200 staff members have already been suspended, and 75 are facing prosecution on suspicion of raping children attending nursery schools.
Earlier this week, the news channel BFM Radio stepped up its coverage with revelations about the existence of a terrifying system of mutual cover-ups, which allowed activity leaders to remain in contact with children and commit their abuses with impunity: “They covered for one another so they could be alone with the children,” reveals the father of a three-year-old victim. They operate during out-of-class hours—those periods when children are at school but not in class.
When complaints of rape and sexual assault began to multiply in certain districts of eastern Paris, Grégoire’s deputies sought to downplay the facts, claiming that the figures were “in line with the national average.” Parents felt they were not being listened to, or worse, not being believed. Staff members found guilty were simply transferred from one school to another, without any further punishment.
As recently as last week, a new complaint of rape against a Parisian after-school club worker was filed by the family of a three-year-old child. The man was working at a school in the 15th arrondissement, even though he had only just been removed from another school in the 7th arrondissement. Suspected, along with other activity leaders, of acts of violence against the children in his care, he was nevertheless allowed to continue working. According to the Paris city council, he was given a “second chance” after a mere “reprimand,” even though the first complaint of rape and assault dated back to February. Three separate complaints have already been filed against him. The father mentioned above explains that he withdrew his young daughter from the school where she had to suffer assaults from this educator: he never received any communication, neither from the school nor from the Paris city council nor from the ministry of national education. Parents fear their complaints will be dismissed without further action.
Lack of supervision, absence of oversight, laxity in cases of proven abuse, unprocessed reports: the list of responsibilities of the City Hall, which employs these youth workers, is long.
In the final stretch before the second election round, Rachida Dati’s campaign team is making this one of their main campaign arguments. While the left-wing newspaper Libération gives a voice to Emmanuel Grégoire, Hidalgo’s running mate, with the front-page headline, “We must prevent the worst: Rachida Dati’s victory,” Pierre Liscia, Dati’s running mate, responds scathingly on X, “The worst thing is having recruited paedophiles into nursery schools and having turned a blind eye for over 10 years.”
For the time being, the Socialist candidate Grégoire is sidestepping the issue. A month ago, on February 16, he acknowledged “mistakes” and felt he should have “dealt with it more”; on March 12, he stated that he “had never been in charge of this issue.” He had been aware of it since 2015, as the web archives remind us.
As early as 2015, Rachida Dati raised the alarm about the problem, without receiving any response other than “there is no such thing as zero risk.” Today, Aurore Bergé, the minister responsible for combating discrimination, is pointing out Emmanuel Grégoire’s personal responsibility in what she considers to be an “absolute scandal.”
For the time being, the national press coverage of this affair remains rather muted. The Journalism Observatory notes “timid” coverage of the scandal. There are still a few days left for Parisian voters to realise the full extent of the crisis and draw the political conclusions.
