Recognizing victims, protecting students, better monitoring private education... What the parliamentary report based on the Bétharram affair recommends

Forty hearings, more than 140 people interviewed, and highly anticipated conclusions. The report of the parliamentary commission of inquiry into violence in schools, led by MPs Violette Spillebout (EPR) and Paul Vannier (LFI), was made public on Wednesday, July 2, more than four months after the work began . The chair of the Committee on Cultural Affairs and Education, Fatiha Keloua Hachi (PS), referred in its preamble to " a fundamental study on the unthinkable: children, everywhere in France, exposed to monstrosities ."

The origin of this commission is the Bétharram affair , which is why part of the report is dedicated to the "systemic violence perpetrated for at least half a century" in this Catholic establishment, targeted by more than 200 complaints from former students. The Prime Minister himself was questioned on this subject on May 14, accused of lying or leniency towards the management of the Béarn college-high school . While his daughter was herself a witness and victim of violence , François Bayrou has always denied having been aware of the abuses. At the end of June, Paul Vannier requested that the justice be brought for "false testimony" .

In addition to the political repercussions for the head of government, the affair has revealed violence within other establishments in France , both private and public. "Sexual violence behind the thick walls of a classroom, in the silence of the night in boarding schools. Physical violence too, sometimes of unheard-of violence, of absolute sadism. Repeated humiliations, to set an example - that of the all-powerful adults over children," denounces Fatiha Keloua Hachi.

The suffering they experienced left indelible marks on the victims. "What kind of adults would we have become without Bétharram ? (...) Some might have been more open-minded adults, there would have been fewer divorces and fewer depressions. Certainly, more happiness," writes whistleblower Alain Esquerre in Le Silence de Bétharram , quoted in the commission's report.

In addition to analyzing the causes of school violence and giving a voice to those who have experienced it, Violette Spillebout and Paul Vannier make 50 recommendations. Franceinfo, which was able to consult the report before the co-rapporteurs' press conference scheduled for 11 a.m., summarizes them for you.

Recognizing victims of school violence

Firstly, the co-rapporteurs believe that it is essential to offer reparations to victims of violence committed in schools. "One word has come up often, this word which was addressed to adults, to indifference, to omerta: that of 'anger', an anger all the stronger because the victims have suffered the suffering and cruelty in indifference or general blindness, without their tormentors ever being truly worried," the report states. They thus recommend recognizing the State's responsibility for "the shortcomings which have allowed the violence to continue" and propose creating a compensation fund for victims.

Violette Spillebout and Paul Vannier also called for the launch of a "cross-party mission" at the National Assembly to formulate proposals to "make certain offenses committed against minors imprescriptible." They also recommended extending the statute of limitations for the offense of failure to report acts of willful violence committed against a minor. This period is currently six years for physical violence, and ten to twenty years for sexual violence.

Protecting students

School violence is not just a thing of the past. To better protect students today and tomorrow, the co-rapporteurs suggest, for example, enshrining in the Education Code and the Social Action and Families Code "the prohibition of all corporal punishment or humiliating treatment of children." But they also suggest permanently implementing annual awareness sessions on child abuse in all schools. The goal is also to increase funding for the associations involved in these sessions, while making public the criteria for granting their accreditation.

Other proposals include: monitoring the "honorability" of individuals "at the time of their recruitment and then every three years" , systematizing the exchange of information between the National Education system and the justice system, reminding hierarchical authorities of the need to take precautionary measures, without waiting for the initiation of legal proceedings and as soon as the reported violence "appears likely" . Some staff have indeed "shown a reluctance on the part of the administration" to take precautionary measures such as suspension, the co-rapporteurs note.

"Adult silence seems to continue to thrive in many ways."

Violette Spillebout and Paul Vannier, co-rapporteurs of the commission on violence in schools

in their report

The deputies want to "produce and make public annually numerical data, by academy and type of establishment, allowing the measurement of violence committed by adults against students" , by cross-referencing those of "Faits établissements" (a reporting application for management teams) and 119, the emergency number for children in danger. This numerical assessment would also be based on reports collected by a national unit that the co-rapporteurs want to create, "Signal Educ". It would be "dedicated to staff and representatives of parents of students who do not wish or are unable to use the hierarchical channel".

On the subject of collecting victims' opinions, the Ministry of National Education, for its part, launched questionnaire projects in April for students returning from school trips or those attending boarding schools. These projects were piloted in a few establishments at the end of the school year and are expected to be rolled out more widely at the start of the school year in September.

Part of the report is also dedicated to inspections. Violette Spillebout and Paul Vannier want to revalue the role of inspector, carry out more checks in boarding schools and systematize the "unannounced" nature of administrative investigations . Finally, the co-rapporteurs propose to "systematically" disseminate a call for witnesses during these administrative investigations, to integrate into the Education Code a gradation of sanctions "according to the nature of the breaches observed" in the establishments, and to allow the rector to propose to the prefect to close an establishment "whatever the reason given" .

Train and empower staff

The commission of inquiry concludes from its work that it is necessary to involve education personnel, whether teachers, educational assistants, or even school principals, in the fight against violence in schools. To this end, the report recommends guaranteeing them initial and ongoing training. It also suggests establishing a "multi-year plan" for recruiting medical and social personnel, particularly to set up listening centers. Schools currently lack doctors, nurses, and psychologists .

"This weakness in school health has repercussions on other staff, who are left to their own devices in the face of violence of which they may be informed."

Violette Spillebout and Paul Vannier, co-rapporteurs of the commission on violence in schools

in their report

Violette Spillebout and Paul Vannier also propose that school principals provide an annual reminder to all staff, at the start of the school year, of their obligation to report any violence committed against a student. They want the procedure for protecting whistleblowers, a status defined in 2016 by the Sapin II law , to be posted in all schools. Outside of school walls, the deputies want to strengthen the resources of 119, the child endangerment service, in order to guarantee that all calls are handled.

Better control of private sector contracts

While school violence also affects the public sector, the co-rapporteurs highlight the "worrying" persistence of this violence in the private sector under contract, as evidenced by the numerous cases revealed in the press in the wake of the Bétharram affair. As a result, they say they want to "lift the taboo" on state controls over these establishments.

They thus propose entrusting the Directorate General for School Education (Dgesco) with the same responsibilities, with regard to private establishments under contract, as those entrusted to it for public schools and establishments. These responsibilities are currently largely carried out by the Directorate of Financial Affairs (DAF) of the Ministry of National Education, the deputies lament. "Far from being a detail, this organization contributes to the lack of involvement of the ministry in educational issues and those relating to the school climate in private establishments."

The co-rapporteurs also want to see at least one comprehensive audit of private institutions every five years at the most, and to make public the date of the last audit carried out. At the end of May, Elisabeth Borne herself promised that " 1,000 audits [would] be carried out" in 2025 .

"While the observation made is that there is an extreme rarity of checks carried out in private establishments under contract, it does not apply to establishments within the Muslim network."

Violette Spillebout and Paul Vannier, co-rapporteurs of the commission on violence in schools

in their report

They also recommend transferring to the rector the authority to sign and carry out the annual renewal of contracts between private institutions and the State – a mission that currently falls to the prefect. They also recommend including in the clauses of these contracts "measures to prevent and combat physical and sexual violence."