Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo told a Senate commission of inquiry that the abuse scandal in the city's afterschool programs amounts to a "collective failure," according to Mediapart. Her appearance on Tuesday came as the commission examines how violence and sexual abuse went unaddressed in the périscolaire system, the supervised care offered around school hours. Mediapart described the session as a response to damaging revelations, and reported that Hidalgo spread responsibility rather than accepting it herself.
Le Point, covering the same hearing, characterized her testimony as one that diluted accountability, noting she repeatedly pointed away from her own role. Le Monde reported that Hidalgo attributed the failures to a "collective" breakdown. The hearing also included testimony from Patrick Bloche, whose appearance before the Senate was covered by Public Sénat in connection with the sexual violence allegations.
The inquiry follows sustained pressure from families. Le Figaro reported that the co-founder of the group SOS Périscolaire said Hidalgo had received hundreds of emails from relatives of victims. That claim, as reported by Le Figaro, underscores how long families say they tried to raise alarms before the issue reached the Senate.
The scope of the allegations, and the question of who bore responsibility for oversight of city-run childcare, have made the hearings politically sensitive for the mayor's office. Mediapart's account focused on Hidalgo's framing of the matter as a shared institutional failure rather than an individual one.
Further Senate sessions and any conclusions the commission draws are the next points to watch.