Overview
- Secretary-general Guillaume Prévost said closing the Lestelle-Bétharram site is the objective and set a three-month window to present a clear logistical and educational plan before summer.
- After earlier contradictory messages, Prévost and Fnogec president Pierre‑Vincent Guéret presented a unified stance during a joint press conference.
- Current students would transfer to the Beau‑Rameau group in nearby Igon, with the creation of a new collège there and the small boarding program moved; officials cited about 160 collégiens and 11 boarders.
- Nearly 200–250 complaints by former pupils have been filed with the Pau prosecutor over abuses spanning from the late 1950s to the early 2000s, and the Fathers of Bétharram have acknowledged responsibility.
- Leaders warned of unresolved questions about the congregation’s solvency in France and said international arrangements may be needed to guarantee victim compensation given its French and Italian branches.