The Bétharram scandal () concerns

corporal punishment A corporal punishment or a physical punishment is a punishment which is intended to cause physical pain to a person. When it is inflicted on Minor (law), minors, especially in home and school settings, its methods may include spanking or Padd ...

and

sexual abuse Sexual abuse or sex abuse is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using physical force, or by taking advantage of another. It often consists of a persistent pattern of sexual assaults. The offender is re ...

suffered by students at the Notre-Dame de Bétharram school, in

Lestelle-Bétharram Lestelle-Bétharram (; ) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in south-western France. History In 1832, St. Michel Garicoits established the Society of Priests of the Sacred Heart of Betharram. On 5 July 1940, Carl Einstei ...

, in the

Pyrénées-Atlantiques Pyrénées-Atlantiques (; Gascon language, Gascon Occitan language, Occitan: ''Pirenèus Atlantics''; ) is a Departments of France, department located in the Regions of France, region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine in the southwest corner of metropolitan ...

department, committed by

Priests of the Sacred Heart of Jesus of Bétharram The Priests of the Sacred Heart of Jesus of Bétharram (; abbreviated SCI di Béth) is a Roman Catholic clerical religious congregation of Pontifical Right for men. It was established in Bétharram in 1832 by St. Michael Garicoits as fulfilmen ...

. Several legal cases implicate members of the school.

Overview

200 legal complaints have been made accusing

and school staff of physical or sexual abuse from 1957 to 2004 at the Notre-Dame de Bétharram school, in

, in the

department. An official enquiry, The Bétharram Commission, was set up in 2025. In 1996, newspapers reported the first instance of corporal punishment that left a student with

disabilities Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physica ...

. A brief academic inspection under the Ministry of National Education concluded that there was no violence within the school. In 1998, Father Pierre Silviet-Carricart, a former principal, was implicated in rape and sexual assault against minors; the case was closed following his suicide in 2000, and a civil judgment was made against the school in 2003. In October 2023, former students consulted on a Facebook group, resulting in the filing of approximately one hundred complaints. On February 5, 2025,

Mediapart ''Mediapart'' () is an independent nonprofit French Investigative journalism, investigative online newspaper created in 2008 by Edwy Plenel, former editor-in-chief of . It is published in French language, French, English language, English, and ...

reported that

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

François Bayrou François René Jean Lucien Bayrou (; born 25 May 1951) is a French politician who has served as Prime Minister of France since December 2024. He has presided over the European Democratic Party (EDP) since 2004 and the Democratic Movement (France ...

had intervened in 1996 with an investigating judge to defend the school and Father Carricart. Mediapart and

Libération (), popularly known as ''Libé'' (), is a daily newspaper in France, founded in Paris by Jean-Paul Sartre and Serge July in 1973 in the wake of the protest movements of May 1968 in France, May 1968. Initially positioned on the far left of Fr ...

found heated controversies from the 1990s in press archives and the school's newsletter. The absence of a general inspection since 1996 led to the establishment of a

Parliamentary inquiry committee A parliamentary inquiry committee is an investigation committee of the legislative branch, which transforms the parliamentary house itself into a committee to hear testimonies and gather information directly. At the municipal level, its correct n ...

into the modalities of state control and the prevention of violence in schools. In 2025, more than 200 complainants reported violence and abuse, mainly occurring in the 1990s and continuing until the late 2010s. Complainants included a daughter of Prime Minister Bayrou. A large majority of the complaints from long ago cannot be prosecuted due to

statutes of limitations A statute of limitations, known in civil law systems as a prescriptive period, is a law passed by a legislative body to set the maximum time after an event within which legal proceedings may be initiated. ("Time for commencing proceedings") In ...

, which opened a public debate on the statute of limitations for child abuse.

Complaints

Sexual violence

Among the first 76 complaints filed with the courts in May 2024, 38 were of a sexual nature. By April 2025, there had been 90 complaints. According to several victims, "Betharam was an ideal haven for

pedophiles Pedophilia ( alternatively spelled paedophilia) is a psychiatric disorder in which an adult or older adolescent experiences a primary or exclusive sexual attraction to prepubescent children. Although girls typically begin the process of pubert ...

; there was plenty to consume on site in an isolated area".

Physical violence

In April 1996, the press revealed the different types of punishments inflicted in cases of breach of discipline. Based on the testimonies collected, several corporal punishments were denounced, such as violent slaps, kicks, punches to the head, blows to the nails with a wooden

ruler A ruler, sometimes called a rule, scale, line gauge, or metre/meter stick, is an instrument used to make length measurements, whereby a length is read from a series of markings called "rules" along an edge of the device. Usually, the instr ...

, and

spanking Spanking is a form of corporal punishment involving the act of striking, with either the palm of the hand or an implement, the buttocks of a person to cause physical pain. The term spanking broadly encompasses the use of either the hand or implem ...

s directly on the body, including with a cricket bat; some young boys had their ears or hair pulled,. had their knees forced on a metal ruler until they bled, and had their nails and hair pulled out..

Psychological abuse

Students and boarders denounced psychological abuse, a world of "strictness and silence," with the slightest misdemeanor deemed inappropriate, such as a blink or a smile. "It was violence, punishment, humiliation." Relatives reported several suicides of former students of the institution. Several victims admitted in 2025 that they still experienced night terrors.

Reaction

The Independent Commission on Incest and Sexual Violence Against Children (CIIVISE) believes that "Betharram is not a unique case" . As of 2023, CIIVISE recommended "that the system of systematic reporting of alerts in cases of sexual violence in sports establishments be extended to all places that welcome children" and requested a global audit of the existing alert systems in establishments welcoming children. In June 2025,

Scouts et Guides de France Scouts et Guides de France (''Scouts and Guides of France'', SGdF) is the largest Scouting and Guiding association in France. It was formed on 1 September 2004 from the merger of two Roman Catholic Scouting organizations: the Guides de France (fo ...

, a catholic

scouting Scouting or the Scout Movement is a youth social movement, movement which became popularly established in the first decade of the twentieth century. It follows the Scout method of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activi ...

organisation called for its current and former members to testify if they had been victims of the regime.

References

External links

Website
of the official Betharam Commission of Inquiry {{DEFAULTSORT:Betharram scandal Catholic Church sexual abuse scandals in France Child sexual abuse cover-ups Child sexual abuse scandals in Christianity History of Pyrénées-Atlantiques