France is confronting what prosecutors describe as the worst institutional child abuse scandal in its modern history, as criminal investigations spread through 114 Paris schools and nurseries where children as young as three were allegedly raped, beaten and denied food by the very workers paid to protect them. What began as a local outrage has now engulfed the entire capital, exposing systemic failures in the safeguarding of some of France's youngest pupils.
The scandal has been building since January 2026, when France 2's investigative programme Cash Investigation broadcast hidden-camera footage of a monitor at a Paris nursery screaming at toddlers and threatening to leave them without food. That broadcast prompted twelve immediate suspensions. Since then, the number of institutions under investigation has expanded to encompass 84 nursery schools, around 20 primary schools and approximately ten crèches across all 20 arrondissements of the French capital. Paris chief prosecutor Laure Beccuau confirmed the scale publicly on 17 May 2026, stating that three formal judicial investigations had already been opened and five direct summonses had been issued before the correctional court. At least one school monitor was in pre-trial detention at the time of her statement.
