Overview
- A formal judicial inquiry was opened on Friday after investigators from the Brigade de protection des mineurs interviewed 44 children, and two animators who worked at Saint-Dominique were charged and remanded on suspicions of multiple sexual offences affecting about twenty children.
- Paris prosecutors say the probe is one of many in the city, with roughly a hundred inquiries in nursery schools, about twenty in primary schools and around ten in crèches, and the city has suspended 78 education staff since early 2026, 31 for suspected sexual violence.
- Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin sent a circular making the judicial handling of school and after-school sexual violence a priority and urged quicker, more coordinated investigations while prosecutors warn of shortages of child‑psychology experts and forensic resources.
- Parents’ groups have accused the City of Paris and school services of recruitment and information‑sharing failures, and press reports say at least one animator remained in post despite a 2024 complaint, raising questions about CASPE and DASCO oversight.
- Prosecutions and public trials are now proceeding in Paris, but cases face evidentiary challenges because many rely on testimony from very young children, and the crisis is likely to prompt tighter vetting, clearer reporting protocols and calls for more specialist support for victims.