Paris Périscolaire Probe Intensifies as Two Staff Held and Judicial Inquiry Expands

Overview

• A large police operation led by the Brigade de protection des mineurs placed 16 people in garde à vue after raids tied to three schools in Paris’s 7th arrondissement, with the actions carried out during the week of May 20.
• The parquet de Paris said 13 of the 16 had their custody lifted while three were referred to a judge and, by May 22, two animateurs had been formally charged and placed in détention provisoire.
• Prosecutors opened an information judiciaire for the latest file that they say covers alleged sexual gestures and other crimes against about twenty child victims, and investigators have already heard dozens of children in the ongoing workup.
• The investigation is far wider than one school: the parquet reports roughly a hundred separate inquiries affecting maternelles, primary schools and crèches across the city, and Paris authorities face criticism over hiring and oversight failures.
• Separately, singer Patrick Bruel is facing multiple complaints in France and Belgium with several mayors and promoters calling for him to suspend concerts and some international dates already cancelled while he denies the accusations.