‘Gut-wrenching pain’: First conviction in French school sex abuse scandal fails to quell parents’ anger

A cascade of child abuse allegations against school aides who mind pupils during after-school "périscolaire" activities has rocked France in recent months. For the first time since the scandal broke, a Paris court on Tuesday sentenced an after-school supervisor. Michael M. was found guilty of sexually abusing nine children aged 5 to 10 between September 2022 and January 2024 at a school in the 15th arrondissement (district) of Paris. The court handed him a five-year term, four of which were suspended, and banned him from working with children ever again. He will serve one year under house arrest with an ankle tag. While a lawyer representing the victims said the court had “recognised the seriousness of the offences”, parent collectives like SOS Périscolaire lamented the sentence as “insufficient”. “The bigger question we should be asking ourselves is whether France’s institutions are ready enough and equipped to listen to and protect children,” said Barka Zerouali, cofounder of the parent collective called #MeTooEcole. Read moreFrance ponders failure to protect children as school abuse scandal rocks Paris “Périscolaire” refers to the care children receive during parts of the school...