Bétharram Scandal: François Bayrou Strikes Back, Vows Full Transparency

Amid mounting criticism over the Notre-Dame-de-Bétharram affair, Prime Minister François Bayrou forcefully responded on Tuesday, May 20, in the National Assembly, pledging to publish within 48 hours all documents he submitted during his hearing before the parliamentary commission investigating sexual and physical abuse against children.

In response to renewed questions from France Unbowed MP Sarah Legrain, Bayrou brandished a letter dated November 5, 1996, in which the school’s then-director stated he had dismissed a supervisor accused of assaulting a student. That claim is now being challenged by a document provided by a victims’ advocacy group, which shows that the same supervisor was still employed at the school in 1997–1998 and had even been promoted to student affairs coordinator.

“To put an end to this controversy, I will publish all documents proving these accusations are outrageously false, so that everyone can form an informed opinion,” declared the Prime Minister from the parliamentary floor.

Disputed Allegations and a Controversial Whistleblower

Bayrou, who had several of his children enrolled at Bétharram, stands accused by members of the left of having known about the abuse since the 1990s and of intervening in a legal case involving a Bétharram clergyman accused of rape.

Central to the allegations is Françoise Gullung, a former math teacher at the school, who claims she tried multiple times to alert Bayrou to the abusive environment—particularly through his wife, who taught catechism at the time. Bayrou categorically denied these claims, accusing Gullung of “fabrication” and calling her allegations “purely and factually impossible.”

He also criticized errors in the transcription of Gullung’s testimony by the parliamentary record-keepers, a move that has further strained relations between the Prime Minister and the commission, chaired by Paul Vanier.

As the scandal deepens, prosecutors in Pau are investigating nearly 200 complaints, involving incidents ranging from corporal punishment to severe sexual assault. The political fallout appears to be growing: according to an Ipsos poll published Sunday, Bayrou’s approval rating has dropped by four points to just 20%.