Bétharram Affair: François Bayrou, between attacks and "forgetting" during his five-hour hearing at the Assembly

A marathon hearing for François Bayrou. The Prime Minister was questioned for more than five hours this Wednesday, May 14, by the National Assembly's commission of inquiry into the case of sexual and physical violence at Notre-Dame-de-Bétharram.

Under oath, the head of government has launched numerous attacks against the press, the rebellious co-rapporteur Paul Vannier, and whistleblower Françoise Gullung. François Bayrou also pleaded "forgetfulness" before the committee.

Asked about the report of the academic inspection which revealed dysfunctions in Bétharram when he was then Minister of National Education in 1996, François Bayrou said he "forgot the terms".

This report states that an educational inspection had already taken place at the school in the mid-1990s. The inspection concluded that "Notre-Dame-de-Bétharram is not an establishment where students are brutalized."

The mission was commissioned after a CPE slapped a 5th-grade student. "Through an unfortunate combination of circumstances, this school has just experienced some difficult times," the report further qualifies. It "was a breath of fresh air for me, because I had forgotten the terms of the report."

"I had no documents or notes. I was completely helpless," the head of government said on Wednesday.

This report was the subject of a debate between co-rapporteur Violette Spillebout, who "considers that it is a quick, superficial investigation in which mainly teachers and management were interviewed."

For the Prime Minister, "it was a real verification (...) with the hearing of 20 people between 9:30 a.m. and 6 p.m."

He also said he had "no memory" of entering the institution or serving on the board, stating that "nobody's memory only goes back 40 years."

The Prime Minister did not hesitate to attack several people in his defense during the hearing. He directly questioned the work of this parliamentary commission of inquiry. According to him, the remarks made there, particularly those of whistleblower Françoise Gullung, are not those that can be found online in the National Assembly's minutes.

François Bayrou said he "cast doubt on those who write" the reports (the Assembly officials, editor's note) "and those who control" the government's actions by appointing the commission of inquiry.

Co-rapporteur Violette Spillebout defended the commission of inquiry, which "is not biased."

"We may have disagreements (...). I do not want the work of the commission of inquiry to be called into question," the Renaissance MP replied to the head of government.

She recalled "having interviewed 140 people" and "collected numerous documents."

François Bayrou also accused co-rapporteur Paul Vannier of "distorting reality with every intervention" of his remarks. The Prime Minister insisted that "his version has not changed" and that the "assertions" of the rebellious MP "are biased." "I will not allow the rapporteur's method to flourish," François Bayrou defended himself. Later, the Prime Minister again accused Paul Vannier of having led a "campaign" that "targeted" him in order to "destroy" him.

On several occasions, the head of government attacked the statements of Françoise Gullung, a former teacher in the 1990s and whistleblower in this affair. François Bayrou said he was "sullied" by the "sworn fabrications" of her testimony before this commission of inquiry. Françoise Gullung had described a scene implicating Élisabeth Bayrou, François Bayrou's wife, who taught catechism there.

Finally, the Prime Minister attacked Mediapart, even though the commission relied on several of the media's investigations. This method was criticized by François Bayrou, who denounced "biased information." The Prime Minister denounced a "method that consists of elevating Mediapart to the status of an authority of the Republic."

"I don't read Mediapart, it's a matter of personal hygiene, you make it the Bible and the prophets!" argued François Bayrou.

Towards the end of his speech, François Bayrou considered that this hearing was intended to "corner him and force him to resign." "You only questioned me about myself, my responsibility, what I did or didn't do, and the suspicion of having intervened—an unbearable suspicion—in the case to protect child sex offenders. The entire hearing revolved around that," the Prime Minister complained. He added that he "would have preferred to talk about the victims."

"It was about one thing, sorry to speak a little trivially, it was about cornering me in order to force me to resign," the head of government lamented.

"I'm the accused in this case? I've heard you say 'we are not a court' ten times. How are you behaving now? You're trying to fuel a scandal with methods that are (...) crude and weak," François Bayrou also lamented, addressing Paul Vannier.

At the end of his hearing, François Bayrou hailed it as "a liberating moment" and congratulated himself on having "shown that everything was baseless."