French Prime Minister François Bailloux vehemently denied his role in covering up decades of abuse at Catholic schools in southwestern France, informing Parliamentary committees that he has never been informed of fraud.
The committee examines whether Bayrou, who served as French education minister from 1993 to 1997 and served as multiple local mandates in the area, had prior knowledge of widespread abuse claims.
Over 200 complaints have been filed since February 2024 regarding alleged violence and rape committed by priests and school staff in the 1970s and 1990s.
Under oath, Bellu refused the allegation, claiming that he was never warned of abuse and accused his opponents of using the case for political interest.
He claimed he only learned about wider abuse claims through the press and had no insider information.
Bayrou further criticised Congressional Committees for their lack of objectivity, questioning the testimony of former teacher Françoise Garn, who claimed to have warned him and his wife in 1994 and 1995, calling her statement “false.”
However, his statement contradicts several witnesses, including former judge Christian Mirande, who dealt with the 1998 case involving Father Kalikyat, the school’s former director accused of rape.
Mirande told the committee that Baillou visited him during the investigation and expressed concern to his son, a student at the school. Bayrou initially denied the meeting before describing it as “accidental”.
Carricart received preliminary charges in 1998, but died of suicide before facing trial.
April, Bayrou’s eldest daughter, Hélène Péllant, It was revealed She was beaten by a priest at school during summer camp when she was 14 years old.
She said her father had no idea about the incident. Nevertheless, critics accused Baillou of lying to Parliament, a serious crime under French law.
The Betalam incident took a major blow to Baillou’s credibility. He survived several votes of confidence in the divided Congress, but his approval rate has steadily declined in recent weeks.
A recent YouGov poll shows seven out of ten French people believe the prime minister should resign if it is established that they knew about the incident at the time.
The Congressional investigation is expected to reach conclusions by late June.
