In France, kindergarten and school staff accused of child abuse

A child abuse scandal is gaining momentum in France, with employees of dozens of kindergartens and schools under investigation for allegations of physical abuse and sexual harassment. This was reported on May 25 by The Guardian newspaper.

It is noted that the Paris police are reviewing more than 100 allegations of child abuse and rape. The crimes were committed during lunch breaks, quiet hours, and extracurricular activities. Parent groups said they had been trying to get their statements taken seriously for years.

Deficiencies in the recruitment process and employee vetting allowed the abuse to continue, the parents point out. It is specified that in France there are school attendants — adults who look after children during lunch, recess, daytime sleep and extended periods. They are hired by the mayor's office or local authorities, often without special training and diplomas, on a temporary basis.

"If there was a collective mistake, it was that these incidents were treated as isolated cases, when in fact they point to a systemic risk and perhaps even systemic silence," the newspaper quoted Paris Mayor Emmanuel Gregoire as saying.

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It is rare to be sentenced to actual terms of imprisonment in such cases, lawyers say.

On February 28, American entrepreneur, founder of Tesla and SpaceX, Elon Musk sharply criticized the situation in Europe related to the imposition of fines instead of imprisonment for migrants in cases of rape of minors. Thus, the entrepreneur commented on a publication claiming that in Spain, a migrant from Senegal was fined, not imprisoned, for raping a 14-year-old girl.