French Prime Minister François Bayrou has denied having knowledge of extensive abuse at a Catholic school in southwestern France during the 1990s.
Bayrou testified on Wednesday before a parliamentary committee about what he knew of the scandal while serving as Minister of Education from 1993 to 1997.
The school is located in Lestelle-Bétharram, near Lourdes and the Pyrenees. Bayrou, a multi-time presidential candidate, is from this region and was once mayor of Pau. His children attended the Notre-Dame de Bétharram school, where his wife taught catechism.
Boys aged 8 to 13 reportedly suffered abuse at the school for decades. Psychological, sexual, and physical abuse is said to have begun in the 1950s, but it was not until 2023 that a group of victims publicly revealed the details. So far, around 200 victims have filed complaints with the Pau prosecutor’s office, with 90 citing sexual abuse.
According to the victims, they were abused by priests and staff at the school.
The opposition suggested that Bayrou was aware of misconduct at the Bétharram school.
Bayrou stated, however, that his knowledge was no greater than that of the general public, claiming that the information he had was also available in the media. Before testifying, the 73-year-old asserted that a political campaign was being waged against him and aimed to demonstrate his innocence to the committee.
“I stand by my statement. As Minister of Education, I had no privileged information,” Bayrou responded during an exchange with Paul Vannier, a legislator from the radical left-wing La France Insoumise party and co-author of the investigation report.
He accused Vannier of distorting the facts regarding the school’s incidents and labelled a crucial witness heard by the committee a “fantasist.”
