Notre-Dame-de-Bétharram Catholic School to Close Amid Abuse Scandal

The Notre-Dame-de-Bétharram Catholic school complex, also known as Beau Rameau, located in Lestelle-Betharram, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, is set to close by summer 2025, as announced on January 22, 2026, by Pierre-Vincent Guéret, president of the Fnogec, the organization managing Catholic education in France. Guéret stated that the school's name, severely tarnished by a decades-long sexual and physical abuse scandal, "must be sent to the annals of history."

While the institution will officially close, the plan is for it to relocate operationally, a move contingent on approval from the Vatican due to the Pères de Bétharram congregation being overseen from Rome. Guéret emphasized, "Institutionally, Bétharram will close; operationally, it must move."

The decision follows extensive revelations that the elite school—attended by children of prominent figures, including former Prime Minister François Bayrou—had been plagued by a series of abuses over many years. This scandal has not only damaged Notre-Dame-de-Bétharram's reputation but has also sparked a wave of similar abuse disclosures in other Catholic institutions across France.

The timeline for closure differs slightly in reports, with one source citing summer 2024 and another 2025, but both underline the irreversible impact of the abuses uncovered and the complex process of relocating the institution under Vatican oversight. This closure marks a significant moment in confronting the institutional failings within French Catholic education linked to historic abuse cases.