French lawmakers divided over PM child abuse hearing
French politicians were divided on Thursday over the marathon hearing of Prime Minister Francois Bayrou, who was grilled by lawmakers about claims of sexual abuse at a Catholic school.
Some deputies were outraged at the way Bayrou was questioned for five and a half hours on Wednesday, one of them comparing the hearing to a "Stalinist" trial.
Others accused the 73-year-old premier of obfuscation.
Even the two co-rapporteurs of the inquiry were divided, with one claiming Bayrou had admitted to "lying" and the other saying she believed him.
On Wednesday, Bayrou faced one of the most delicate moments of his five months in office when he sought to defend himself before a committee investigating widespread claims of abuse at a school in southwestern France.
During the tense hearing, Bayrou, who served as education minister between 1993 and 1997, struck a defiant tone and said he only knew of allegations of sexual abuse from media reports.
He accused the commission, and particularly one of the co-rapporteurs, a lawmaker with the left-wing France Unbowed party (LFI), of seeking to "bring down" the government.
- 'Moscow trial' -
"I tend to give credence to the prime minister's public words," said far-right National Rally party vice-president Sebastien Chenu, adding that the hearing made him uncomfortable.
"For me it was more like a Moscow trial," he told broadcaster TF1.
He particularly criticised the behaviour of the LFI co-rapporteur, Paul Vannier, regretting what he called an "exploitation of a tragedy".
Marc Fesneau, a Bayrou ally, was even more outspoken, describing "this way of treating people as pretty disgusting".
"It's Stalinism," he told broadcaster Radio J.
But Boris Vallaud, the head of Socialist lawmakers, described the prime minister's tactics as "smoke and mirrors".
"At the end of this hearing, do the French people, the victims, feel that they have been enlightened about what happened?" Vallaud said.
"I don't think so."
- 'Best defence is good offence' -
Bayrou has faced opposition claims that he knew of widespread physical and sexual abuse over many decades at the Notre-Dame de Betharram school.
Several of Bayrou's children attended the school and his wife taught religious studies there.
Centrist Bayrou, the sixth prime minister of President Emmanuel Macron's mandate was named head of government in December and given the task of hauling France out of months of political crisis.
He has managed to survive a no-confidence vote in a divided parliament but the Betharram affair has damaged his credibility and his approval rating has been declining.
Vannier, the LFI co-rappourter, said Thursday the prime minister had admitted having "lied" in February when questioned in parliament for the first time.
He told broadcaster franceinfo the committee would carefully study Bayrou's latest statements, pointing to "one important lesson -- yes, Francois Bayrou lied to the National Assembly" in February.
Speaking to reporters later in the day, he said it was "too early to say" if Bayrou had lied on Wednesday.
His co-rapporteur, centrist Violette Spillebout, disagreed, saying Bayrou had offered an "extremely vigorous defence" following months of attacks by Vannier.
"And I believe him," she said.
They are expected to deliver their conclusion in June.
Analysts say the scandal could embolden the prime minister's enemies.
"Francois Bayrou's hearing on the Betharram affair turns into a political confrontation," said French daily Le Monde.
Left-leaning Liberation said those who had expected to hear the truth would be disappointed.
"The prime minister made it clear from the outset: the best defence is a good offence," the newspaper added.
The hard left ramped up their pressure on Bayrou.
"Can we accept a prime minister who lies to MPs when they are exercising their constitutional prerogative of overseeing the government's action?", LFI national coordinator Manuel Bompard said on X.
"For us, the answer is no!"
By Veronique Dupont And Anna Smolchenko
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