French PM’s Daughter Accuses Catholic School of Abuse

The eldest daughter of French Prime Minister François Bayrou has publicly accused clergy at the Catholic Notre-Dame de Bétharram school in the Pyrenees of systemic abuse, alleging she was beaten by a priest at age 14 while her father served as a local official.

Hélène Perlant, 53, disclosed in interviews with Mediapart and Paris Match that she was violently assaulted during a summer camp in the 1980s. "One night, [Father] Lartiguet grabbed me by the hair, dragged me across the floor, then punched and kicked me—especially in the stomach," she said. "I wet myself and stayed like that all night, damp and curled up in my sleeping bag."

Her account contradicts Bayrou’s repeated insistence that he was unaware of widespread abuse at the school during his tenure as education minister in the 1990s and as a regional politician. Over 200 former students have filed complaints detailing physical, sexual, and psychological abuse by clergy from the 1960s to the 2000s.

Growing Political Fallout

Perlant’s revelation has intensified pressure on Bayrou, who leads a fragile centrist minority government. Opposition parties, including the far-left France Unbowed (LFI), have seized on the scandal, with LFI lawmaker Paul Vannier stating on X: "Like other victims’ testimonies, Hélène Perlant’s account contradicts François Bayrou’s words."

Judge Christian Mirande confirmed he discussed abuse allegations with Bayrou in 1998, contradicting the prime minister’s initial denial. Perlant recalled her father asking her at the time whether the accusations could be true. "I don’t think he remembers, but I was there when he returned from Judge Mirande’s," she told Mediapart.

Bayrou, visibly shaken, called his daughter’s ordeal "almost unbearable" but maintained he was never informed of violence at the school. He is scheduled to testify before a parliamentary inquiry on May 14.

The scandal coincides with France’s broader reckoning over Catholic Church abuse cover-ups, including recent revelations about the late Abbé Pierre, a revered priest now accused of decades of sexual misconduct. The Vatican allegedly knew of his crimes but failed to intervene.

Perlant, who kept her experience secret for decades, said she came forward to stand with fellow survivors. "I wanted to say, ‘I’m one of those at Bétharram,’" she told France Inter. "Just another victim—one among others, and the daughter of the prime minister."

Her testimony appears in The Silence of Bétharram, a new book compiling survivors’ accounts, co-authored by victims’ spokesperson Alain Esquerre and journalist Clémence Badault.