Overview

• Survivors from Notre-Dame-de-Bétharram and other Catholic schools have formed collectives to share testimonies of systemic abuse spanning decades.
• Alain Esquerre, founder of the Bétharram victims' collective, has described the revelations as exposing a widespread pattern of violence in Catholic education.
• Allegations include physical abuse, sexual violence, and neglect by both clergy and lay staff, with some cases dating back to the 1970s and earlier.
• Victims are seeking official recognition, reparations, and access to therapeutic support, with a meeting scheduled with Education Minister Élisabeth Borne on March 20.
• The revelations have prompted calls for an independent entity to document abuses and for stricter oversight of private educational institutions in France.