By Esra Taskin
PARIS - The daughter of French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou said she was violently abused at age 14 by a Catholic priest during a summer trip organized by a religious community linked to a school now at the center of a widening abuse scandal.
Helene Perlant, 53, described the alleged assault in an interview with Paris Match.
She said the priest, identified as Lartiguet, dragged her by the hair for several meters and punched and kicked her, including in the stomach.
The trip was organized by the Catholic community connected to Notre-Dame de Betharram, a private school now facing serious allegations of sexual and physical abuse.
Perlant said her father did not know about the incident. “He doesn’t know that I was a victim, and he doesn’t know that I will testify as a victim.”
She described the school culture as a “totalitarian structure” where psychological pressure kept students and staff silent.
The case adds pressure on Bayrou, who served as education minister from 1993 to 1997.
A Mediapart investigation published Feb. 5 reported that Bayrou was aware of abuse at Notre-Dame de Betharram during his time in office.
Bayrou denied the claims in a Feb. 11 address to parliament, saying he had no knowledge of any abuse or misconduct at the school.
French prosecutors in Pau launched an investigation last year after 112 former students filed complaints over incidents dating from 1960 to 2011.
On Feb. 19, three former staff members — aged 93, 69, and 59 — were taken into custody.
Since then, the number of former students who have come forward has grown to 200, raising further questions about institutional silence and long-standing failures.