Two people close to Bayrou, who were granted anonymity to discuss a sensitive issue, described the prime minister as being in a state of “intense emotion” and “shock” after learning about the incident. Perlant, now 53, did not tell her father about the abuse until shortly before the Paris Match story was published, according to one of them.
Perlant’s revelation comes ahead of the release of a book this Thursday about the violence that took place at Bétharram. The book was authored by Alain Esquerre, himself a former student and victim of abuse, who set up a victims’ group that has led to 200 charges being pressed. Perlant shares her experience in the book as well.
Incidents of violence at Bétharram were first made public in 1996, when a pupil’s father pressed charges after his son was hit and subjected to degrading punishments at school. Bayrou was education minister at the time and one of his sons was in the victim’s class.
In February, French investigative outlet Mediapart published witness statements and documents that purported to show that Bayrou “could not have been unaware of the accusations.”
The French prime minister quickly denied the allegations and said he had “never been informed of any incidents of violence, let alone sexual violence.” He said that he would be suing Mediapart for libel, though it’s unclear if a suit has been filed.
Bayrou later said that, though he knew nothing about incidents of sexual violence, he had been made aware of the charges pressed in 1996.