French President Francois Bayrou set a defiant firmness in parliament on Wednesday, insisting during a contentious hearing that he only knew from media reports that there had been reports of physical abuse at a Catholic university. As he responded to questions from a committee looking into allegations of sexual victimization at a Catholic school, the 73-year-old lawmaker had one of the most exquisite instances of his five months in office. As education secretary between 1993 and 1997, Bagyrou is accused of having extensive knowledge of the common physical and sexual victimization at the Notre-Dame de Betharram class in southwest France for many years. However, he continued to use his past statements on Wednesday and claimed that he had never received any information while serving as minister of education other than what was reported in the press. He said,” I had nothing to hide.” He expressed his desire to work together, claiming that the investigation into what he termed the” MeToo for kids” was finally taking place. This reading is very important to me. It is very important for the boys and girls who have endured centuries of abuse, especially physical abuse,” he continued. However, as the two co-rapporteurs of the committee, Paul Vannier and Violette Spillebout, interrogated Bayrou about alleged murder, sexual abuse, and murder committed at the school in the southwest of Pau, where Bayrou has been president since 2014, the tensions were high. Bayrou, a member of the hard-left France Unbowed party ( LFI), was charged at the hearing with trying to “fuel a scandal.” The French prime minister added that he did not believe the commission to be” fully objective.” The school was attended by a number of Bayrou’s children, and his wife that teaches religious studies. Bayrou has frequently denied any wrongdoing and described what he calls a “destruction” battle as being offensive against him.
I have faith in him
Centrist Bayrou, the sixth prime minister of President Emmanuel Macron’s mandate, was named head of government last December. He has been given the daunting task of hauling France out of months of political crisis. Until now Bayrou has managed to survive a no-confidence vote in a divided parliament but the Betharram affair has damaged his credibility and his approval rating has been declining in recent weeks. Bayrou’s popularity rating has dropped below that of Macron, according to a poll published last week, with only 27 percent of French people approving of his work.Analysts have said Bayrou could face further pressure depending on his performance during the hearing.“The Betharram school scandal may not be sufficient in itself to bring down Bayrou but could embolden his parliamentary enemies, and supposed friends, to pull the plug on the government for other reasons,” said the Eurasia Group.“Reasons for dissatisfaction abound,” the political risk consultancy added, pointing to France’s budgetary crisis.Macron threw his support behind the embattled prime minister.“We have talked about it a lot and I know that I have faith in him,” he told TF1 television Tuesday evening, referring to the Betharram affair.Bayrou’s statements have been contradicted by a number of people including his own daughter.In April, Bayrou’s eldest daughter accused the clergy running the school of systemic abuse, saying a priest beat her during summer camp when she was 14.Helene Perlant, who is now 53 and uses her mother’s name, said however that her father did not know about the incident.
He is useless if he lies.
Some members of Bayrou’s crew think that he will be overthrown because of the scandal. However, a follower of Macron, who asked not to be identified, claimed that “if he lies before parliament, he’s dead.” The primary minister was not the issue of the investigation, according to a Bayrou affiliate. The investigation focuses on” the strategies used by the condition to prevent and observe violence in schools.” The two rapporteurs intend to give their opinions in June after hearing testimony, victims, and former ministries. Since February of last year, roughly 200 legal issues have been filed against Betharram’s priests and workers for sexual or physical abuse from 1957 to 2004. Some guests recalled how some monks visited males at evening, claiming that the encounter had left them permanently scarred. Alain Esquerre, who represents a group of university individuals, claimed that” the state has failed and has not protected the babies of Betharram.”
