A group of twelve families, whose children attend schools in the IXth, XIth, and XVth arrondissements of Paris, has announced that they will file a formal complaint against the city of Paris and its officials, including current mayor Emmanuel Grégoire and former mayor Anne Hidalgo, over alleged failures to address violence and sexual offenses against children in the school care system. The families are working with the association MeTooEcole, which advocates for victims of abuse in educational settings, and are requesting that the judiciary investigate whether city officials knew about these issues and failed to act. The complaint will be submitted to the Paris prosecutor’s office by a group of lawyers, including Maxime Delacarte, Elise Le Gall, Julia Basile, and Kathleen Taieb. The individuals named in the complaint include Anne Hidalgo, who was mayor from 2014 to 2026, Emmanuel Grégoire, who has been mayor since March 2026, and Patrick Bloche, who previously served as head of school affairs at the City Hall and as Anne Hidalgo’s first deputy until 2026. The families allege that city officials and the Department of School Affairs (Dasco) were aware of the problems through reports from families and “documented long-term alerts.” They claim that officials did not take necessary actions, such as suspending staff involved in misconduct, informing families, or notifying the judiciary. The complainants argue that city officials became aware of the “systemic nature of the danger” as early as the spring of 2025, when the first cases were reported. The number of staff members suspended for sexual offenses—20 in 2025 and 52 since the start of 2026—suggests that city officials were aware of the severity and frequency of the issue, according to the families. They argue that officials could not have ignored the risk and should have taken “immediate protective measures.” Barka Zerouali, a spokesperson for MeTooEcole, said that the complaints highlight a “systemic silence” within the City of Paris regarding these issues. Anne Hidalgo and Patrick Bloche are already facing three separate complaints from families at the Saint-Dominique school in the VIIth arrondissement, filed at the end of August. Anne Hidalgo’s lawyer, Patrick Klugman, denied any wrongdoing, stating, “There was never any failure, weakness, or inaction on the part of Anne Hidalgo. Who could imagine the mayor of Paris wanting to protect sexual predators?” In addition to the ongoing legal actions, Anne Hidalgo, Patrick Bloche, and Emmanuel Grégoire are scheduled to appear before the Senate inquiry commission on violence in school care in mid-September. The mayor of Paris is also set to be heard by a cross-party information and evaluation mission (MIE) composed of 15 Paris counselors. Meanwhile, Emmanuel Grégoire has launched a 20 million euro action plan to combat sexual violence in school care, calling it an “absolute priority” at the beginning of his tenure. Since the start of 2026, 132 staff members have been suspended by the City of Paris, 52 for suspected sexual or sexist violence. Over 200 criminal investigations are currently underway in primary schools and nurseries across the city.