Paris is burning with scandal. Sources confirm that at least 47 cases of child abuse have been uncovered in schools across the capital since January. The victims are children as young as six.
The accused include teachers, administrators, and even a school governor. Documents obtained by this desk reveal a systematic failure by the French education ministry to act on warnings. Emails from as early as 2021 show headteachers raising alarms about specific staff members.
Nothing was done. This is not a moment of isolated horror. It is a structural collapse.
The National Education Minister has called for an emergency inquiry. But the question that keeps me awake is: how did this happen under the nose of a state that spends billions on schooling? The answer, as always, lies in the money.
Follow the euros. The French government has cut school inspector budgets by 12% since 2019. Fewer inspectors mean fewer eyes on the ground.
Meanwhile, the Catholic school network, which runs a third of Parisian schools, enjoyed tax breaks worth €1.2bn last year. They also fiercely resisted state oversight.
A source inside the archdiocese told me that at least two priests were quietly moved between schools after allegations of abuse. No police reports. No record.
Just silence. The victims' families are now fighting for compensation. But the state is dragging its heels.
A legal aid lawyer I spoke to this morning said the process is designed to exhaust families. 'They want you to give up,' she said. I am not giving up.
I have a list of 14 schools where abuse was reported but never investigated. I have names. I have dates.
I will publish them if the authorities continue to stall. This is a countdown to a reckoning. The French people deserve to know why their children were not protected.
