PARIS (AP) 鈥� Parents鈥� groups in France called Tuesday for more attention to long-ignored child abuse scandals as a rare public trial opened of a school assistant accused of sexually assaulting nine small children in Paris.
Inspired by 鈥檚 decision to make her public, the parents of the children agreed to open the proceedings. In France, trials involving minors are usually held behind closed doors.
According to their lawyers, some parents said they were following the example of Pelicot and her motto that 鈥渟hame must change sides鈥� to abusers, not victims.
The Paris case emerged in April 2025 after several children told their parents they allegedly had been sexually abused at a nursery school.
The defendant, 36, who has not been publicly identified, is accused of assaulting children while supervising them in bathrooms, during lunch breaks and in after-school care between August 2024 and April 2025. He has denied any sexual abuse against children.
The children were between 3 and 5 years old at the time. They do not have to attend the trial. A judge has read their testimonies to investigators.
The defendant is also accused of sexually harassing two co-workers and sexually assaulting one of them. He faces up to 10 years in prison. His lawyer would not speak with The Associated Press before the trial.
Barka Zerouali, co-founder of parents’ group MeToo Ecole, or MeToo School, said at a protest outside the courthouse that 鈥渢here needs to be a national wake-up call at some point.” Protesters carried a banner reading: 鈥淏ecause no child should be afraid to go to school.鈥�
Families said the trauma of the alleged assaults was compounded by what they described as a struggle to be taken seriously by authorities. An initial warning raised by a mother months earlier was apparently ignored by the school.
Rebecca Royer, a lawyer representing several families, said that 鈥渨hat we are expecting is a real turning point in child protection, meaning we expect the government and municipalities to implement real measures to protect children, but also to provide real resources.”
Similar cases in Paris and across France have drawn media attention in recent months.
Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau last week said investigations were underway involving 84 nursery schools, about 20 elementary schools and about 10 daycare centers in the capital.
Paris Mayor Emmanuel Gr茅goire said 78 school and after-school staff members have been suspended in the city since the beginning of 2026, including 31 over suspicions of sexual violence.
While teachers in France are employed by the government in state-run schools, school assistants and after-school activity leaders are hired by city authorities.
Gr茅goire, elected in March, has made combating child abuse an 鈥渁bsolute priority鈥� and unveiled a 20 million euro ($22 million) plan to address what he described as 鈥渕ajor dysfunction鈥� in the city鈥檚 school supervision system. He pledged to immediately suspend any school employee suspected of abusing children.
Before being elected, Gr茅goire publicly revealed that as a child while attending elementary school between the ages of 9 and 10.
Child abuse became a major issue in the mayoral campaign after a series of allegations involving public schools emerged earlier this year.
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Associated Press journalists Nicolas Garriga and Masha Macpherson contributed to this report.
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