Accused by the left of having lied to his knowledge of violence and sexual assault at the college-lycée of Betharram (Pyrénées-Atlantiques), which was frequented by several of his children, François Bayrou will meet the collective of victims on Saturday.
The meeting will take place at 11:45 am at the town hall of Pau whose Prime Minister remained mayor, according to the latter.
It will take place a few days before a motion of socialist censorship contesting the recent words of the Prime Minister on a completely different subject, immigration, on which Mr. Bayrou had mentioned a “Sensation of submersion” French people.
The Pau prosecutor’s office has been carrying out the investigation for a year over more than a hundred complaints aimed at physical violence, sexual assault and rape that would have been committed at the College-Lycée Notre-Dame-de-Bétharram between the 1970s and 1990s.
The head of government already exchanged on the phone on Wednesday with the spokesman for the victims Alain Esquerre, who reproached him for “Having not had a word” For the people concerned since the start of the case in 1996.
Mr. Bayrou asked him “How could he help them”according to those around him.
Francois Bayrou and Patrick Mignola during a session of questions at the government at the National Assembly on February 12, 2025. / Bertrand Guay / AFP
The representative of the victims, administrator of a Facebook page of “Elders of the college and high school of Betharram victims of the institution”explained on the radio here Béarn Bigorre having asked him to“Allocate more means to the Pau prosecutor’s office” for this case, and to make sexual violence “A national priority”.
“Political affair”
“I told him that this is what I expected from a Prime Minister, and certainly not to say that everything is false”continued Mr. Esquerre.
François Bayrou has “Recused” Wednesday lying, speaking of “Artificial controversies”.
Members of the Mouv’fantes associations with signs during a demonstration against the assaults suspected at the college-lycée of Betharram, February 12, 2025. / Philippe Lopez / AFP
On Tuesday he said he had “Never at that time, was notified (…) facts that have given rise to complaints or reports”.
François Bayrou was Minister of Education between 1993 and 1997, then deputy for the Pyrénées-Atlantiques and president of the General Council in the following years. Some of his children were enrolled in this establishment where his wife taught catechism.
The Minister of Relations with Parliament, Patrick Mignola, accused Friday on Franceinfo La France Insoumise of putting the case in pinning “By mixing the dates and explaining that, since he could have known later, he had to know before”.
No control
The Ministry of National Education, which has “At this stage” Not found traces of control of this establishment in the past despite many complaints, ordered Friday evening at the Bordeaux rectorate to conduct an inspection of Betharram.
In a press release, the ministry “Recalls that a circular dating from June 2024 asks rectors to strengthen the controls” Private establishments under contract “As part of a multi -year strategy”adopted after a parliamentary report on public funding, which pointed out a certain opacity.
At the same time, rebellious France maintains the pressure, in particular through the deputy Paul Vannier.
The latter asked the Minister of Education Elisabeth Borne to “Die a mission of the general inspection” And his request for the creation of a parliamentary commission of inquiry into the control of private schools will be examined on Wednesday.
Another LFI deputy, Jean-François Coulomme, announced on X that he had seized justice for “Non-denunciation” ill -treatment or sexual assault on minors.
In April 1996, a complaint denounced the physical violence of a Betharram supervisor on a child in the class of one of Mr. Bayrou’s sons.
Then in May 1998, a priest, former director of the institution, had been indicted and imprisoned for rape, before being found dead in February 2000. The judge in charge of this file reported in several media that François Bayrou had “Get the process of coming to see when the priest was in detention”.
“He was worried with regard to the fact that one of his sons was educated” in Betharram and “Said he couldn’t believe that Father Carricart had done what was accused of”.
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