France faces major child abuse scandal in schools MORE THAN 100 COMPLAINTS

A major child abuse scandal has emerged in France, with school staff under investigation over allegations of violence, sexual assault and rape involving very young children in state-run nurseries and primary schools.

Paris prosecutors say police are examining more than 100 complaints of mistreatment, including physical abuse and sexual offences allegedly committed by school “monitors” during lunch breaks, nap times and after-school activities, Caliber.Az reports, citing foreign media.

Officials confirmed investigations are currently underway in 84 preschools, around 20 primary schools and roughly 10 daycare centres.

Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said the cases span multiple institutions, while lawyers representing victims have alleged that some of the reported offences include the rape of children as young as three and four years old.

Parents’ associations say they had been raising concerns for years, but that their warnings were not properly addressed. They argue that weaknesses in recruitment and vetting procedures for school monitors allowed potential abuse to go undetected.

One lawyer, Florian Lastelle, described the situation as “a massive scandal,” criticising what he called systemic failures in France’s public school system to ensure child safety.

School monitors in France supervise children during lunch, breaks, naps and extracurricular periods, often spending more time with pupils than teachers. They are typically hired by local authorities rather than the national education ministry, and in many cases have limited training, qualifications or job stability.

Reports from parents across the country include allegations of children being shouted at, physically mistreated, denied food, forced to eat to the point of vomiting, and, in the most serious cases, sexually assaulted.

Another lawyer, Louis Cailliez, who represents several families, said he filed complaints earlier this year over alleged rapes in nursery schools in Paris in 2025. In one case, a three-year-old girl is said to have been assaulted by a monitor at a school in western Paris. In another case, a three-year-old boy was allegedly abused by the same individual after earlier complaints of violent behaviour led only to a transfer to another school.

Cailliez said the impact on children and families has been severe, describing scenes of extreme distress and long-term psychological harm.

Legal proceedings are already underway in some cases. A trial is set to begin in Paris next week involving a school monitor accused of abusing five children aged three to five, while another case involving the alleged sexual abuse of nine 10-year-old girls is expected to conclude with a verdict next month.

Paris officials have acknowledged serious failings in the system. Socialist mayor Emmanuel Grégoire has launched a €20 million reform plan to address what he called “major dysfunction” in the school monitor structure, warning that incidents previously treated as isolated may reflect a wider systemic problem. He has also ordered suspensions, with 78 monitors removed from duty between January and April, including 31 suspected of sexual abuse.

Grégoire, who has previously spoken about being sexually abused as a child by a school monitor, has also created a citizens’ assembly to review the system, with recommendations expected in June.

Meanwhile, parents’ groups such as SOS Périscolaire and #MeTooEcole say the scandal highlights a nationwide failure to protect children, arguing that schools are not the safe environment they were assumed to be and calling for stronger oversight, transparency and accountability in the system.

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov