Why Catholic school sexual abuse scandal is plaguing France's prime minister
French Prime Minister François Bayrou has vowed to support an investigation into decades of alleged abuse at a Catholic school, following accusations from the left that he misled parliament by claiming he was unaware of the case while he was a local official and education minister. Pressure on Bayrou increased on Monday after a lawyer in his home town of Pau called for an investigation into alleged "obstruction of justice".
Bayrou has survived several votes of no-confidence since taking office in mid-December. But he now faces scrutiny over allegations of physical and sexual abuse at Notre-Dame de Bétharram – a Catholic boarding school in the Pyrenees where he sent several of his children.
In 1996, when Bayrou was education minister, a student lost hearing in one ear after being slapped by a school monitor, who was later convicted.
In 1998, a former headmaster was detained for allegedly raping a 10-year-old boy in the 1980s but was later released and found dead in Rome's Tiber River two years later.
Last year, following testimonies gathered by ex-student Alain Esquerre, prosecutors began investigating over 100 cases of abuse at the secondary school between the 1970s and 1990s. Esquerre told France 3 in November that he had received new allegations of abuse up until 2016.
"A collosal number of victims are still lurking in the shadows," Esquerre said.
It claimed Bayrou, a devout Catholic, had lied in order to protect the school.
Read more on RFI EnglishRead also:French PM meets with Pope as fallout from child sex abuse scandal spreadsFrench church knew of sexual abuse by late priest Abbé Pierre, bishop saysPM Bayrou calls for national debate on immigration after controversial 'flooding' comments
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