PARIS | May 26, 2026
Paris prosecutors are examining more than 100 allegations of mistreatment, physical violence and rape against children as young as three, after a scandal that began with parents’ groups saying their complaints had been ignored for years.
Police investigations span 84 state nursery schools, approximately 20 primary schools and around 10 daycare centres across Paris, the city’s top prosecutor Laure Beccuau confirmed Monday. A 35-year-old youth worker is now on trial as the first criminal case arising from the probe.
The abuse is alleged to have occurred during lunch breaks, nap times and after-school activities — periods when school monitors, not teachers, are responsible for children. In many cases, monitors spent more time with pupils than classroom staff.
Parents’ groups say failures in the recruitment and vetting process allowed abusers to remain in positions of trust for years. School monitors in France are hired by city hall and local authorities, often without professional diplomas or mandatory background checks — a structural gap now under fierce scrutiny.
“The state school system is a source of pride in this country, but unfortunately in France today it’s not possible to say that the public service guarantees children’s safety,” said Florian Lastelle, a lawyer representing three Paris families who have filed police complaints.
Barka Zerouali, co-founder of the #MeTooEcole collective, said parents had fought for years for their allegations to be taken seriously before police finally acted. Mothers gathered outside Paris city hall in protest over the weekend, calling for a wholesale review of how monitors are hired and monitored.
French Education Minister Marie-Claire Carrère-Gée is expected to address the National Assembly on Tuesday. The Paris prosecutor’s office said additional arrests and charges are expected as the investigation expands beyond the initial wave of complaints.
Child protection advocacy groups say the scandal reveals systemic weaknesses in France’s decentralised model of hiring school support staff, and are calling for a national audit of all after-school care contracts.
Two other European countries — Belgium and the Netherlands — have begun reviewing their own school monitor hiring procedures following the Paris revelations.
Updates to follow as this story develops.