Paris authorities have suspended two after-school activity leaders and launched an urgent administrative investigation following a shocking television investigation that captured alleged psychological abuse and inappropriate conduct towards children in a Parisian school.
Immediate Suspensions and Criminal Complaint
The City of Paris reacted swiftly after the broadcast of France Télévisions’ “Cash Investigation” program on Thursday night. Officials confirmed the immediate suspension of two activity leaders featured in the report. The city has also requested a general inspection and filed a report with the public prosecutor’s office, with a formal criminal complaint expected to follow.
In a letter to parents obtained by Le Parisien, the city stated it had identified the school involved, located in the 7th arrondissement, and recognized the two staff members “despite the blurred images.” Separately, Education Minister Édouard Geffray announced he was filing multiple judicial reports concerning the investigation’s findings about violence in private institutions and failures in after-school care.
Disturbing Hidden Camera Footage
The program featured undercover footage from a journalist who secured a job as an after-school activity leader. The scenes broadcast were deeply troubling:
- Staff shouting at children during lunch: “I’m warning you, as long as there’s no quiet, there’s no activity!” and “You have lost the right to speak.”
- Threats to withhold snacks: “I think I’m going to take back the snacks and you won’t eat anything!”
- An activity leader dismissing a distressed kindergarten child who was yelled at, telling the undercover journalist: “If it upsets you, this job isn’t for you.”
- A separate, highly inappropriate scene where another activity leader called a child over in the playground and kissed him twice on the mouth, later singing, “I’m crazy about him…”
The voiceover noted the visible fear on the children’s faces, which were blurred for broadcast.
Growing Scandal in Parisian After-School Care
This investigation adds to a series of revelations about abuse within Paris’s after-school care system over the past year. The latest exposé has triggered a new wave of official action and heightened scrutiny over child protection standards in the capital’s educational facilities.
