Sexual Abuse Scandals Shake Paris Extracurricular Programs Amid Systemic Safeguarding Failures

Paris is grappling with a serious crisis of sexual abuse allegations within its extracurricular activities, prompting over fifty suspensions and numerous judicial investigations. This troubling situation has brought to light significant systemic flaws in the city's approach to youth safeguarding.

Rachida Dati, serving as France’s Minister of Culture and a candidate for Paris mayor, has publicly criticized the dysfunctions plaguing the periscolaire (after-school) system since changes in 2013. She highlighted that adjustments to school schedules were implemented hastily without adequate recruitment standards for activity leaders, with the only requirement being a clean criminal record. This lax hiring protocol has contributed to multiple suspicions of both physical and sexual violence in schools. Dati has called for stricter protective measures, including the definitive rule that no single adult should ever be alone with a child in these settings.

Inès de Raguenel, vice-president of the Changer Paris group, confirmed that 52 extracurricular staff have been suspended this year amid fifteen ongoing judicial investigations related to sexual assaults in Paris. She sharply criticized the dismissive stance of the city’s first deputy in charge of education, who claimed the situation merely mirrored national statistics. Raguenel and the president of the SOS Périscolaire collective both stressed that parents feel abandoned and ignored after reporting abuses.

Although distinct, the case in Limoges of a school director detained for sexual assault on a minor and possession of pedopornographic material underscores that concerns about child protection extend beyond Paris. The director, who has been suspended, allegedly committed offenses unrelated to his professional duties, though the case adds urgency to calls for thorough scrutiny and improved safeguarding in all French extracurricular environments.

The ongoing scandal in Paris highlights an urgent need for comprehensive reforms to protect vulnerable minors from abuse, ensure better vetting and training of staff, and restore parental trust in the safety of extracurricular programs across the city.