Abbé Pierre accused of sexual assault: more than 20 women testify

17 new people accuse Abbé Pierre of sexual violence in a new report by the Egaé firm. The foundation that bears his name has reaffirmed its support for the victims and decided to change its name.

The shock never ends. Seven weeks ago, France discovered a hidden side of the past of Abbé Pierre accused of sexual violence. In a report by Emma's, seven women accused him. On France Inter, an eighth woman testified that she had been sexually assaulted by the priest. But that was far from the mark. According to a new summary from the specialist firm Egaé, 17 other testimonies accuse him of sexual violence, reveals AFP, taken up by BFMTV and Le Parisien.

The events took place between the 1950s and 2000s. “To date, it is possible to identify at least 17 additional people who suffered violence from” the priest who died in 2007, the report states. The nature of the attacks is diverse. In the majority of cases, “unsolicited touching of the breasts or forced kisses,” the report details. But several witnesses describe serious facts: “repeated sexual contact with a vulnerable person, repeated acts of sexual penetration on a person over 18, as well as comments of a sexual nature, forced kisses and other sexual contact with a child.” In total, the Egaéé group indicates having received around fifty emails and twenty telephone messages as of September 2. It had been contacted on July 17 by Emmaüs and the Abb&eacute Foundation Pierre Foundation to collect potential new testimonies after the first accusations.

The Abbé Pierre Foundation has subsequently reaffirmed its support for the victims, and has declared that it is "changing its name". The foundation "has initiated the steps planned for this effect”, we can read. 

Seven first victim testimonies

In a report by Emmaüs published on Wednesday July 17, seven women testified against Abbé Pierre. According to the newspaper La Croix, they accuse in particular the priest who died in 2007 of harassment and sexual assault committed by the man who was for a long time one of the French people's favorite personalities. One of them declared that she was a minor at the time of the events.

A listening and testimony collection system was then set up set up for “people who may also have been victims of similar events”. They may be heard anonymously. New testimonies could therefore still emerge.

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An eighth witness testified on France Inter on Saturday July 20. She described events dating back to 2006, one year before his death. The priest, aged 93, was hospitalized in a military hospital in the Paris region. The eighth victim was a nurse and explained: “I went to his room to accompany him to the toilet, he got up, he walked, and then he grabbed both my breasts.” The woman then allegedly slapped the cleric, who claimed he needed to hold himself, to which she allegedly replied: “In this large room, you have found nothing but my breasts” hold you ?", thinking then that this story was over.

But when she mentioned this assault to her colleagues, “two or three others said, 'me too, he touched my breasts'”, explaining that the priest was “accustomed to it”. Facts that she did not report at the time, but which shook her Catholic faith. Eight years later, she explained that she realized “that it's not fixed, there's something in [her] that's suffering.”

A known behavior?

Emma's investigation report contains excerpts from direct and non-direct testimonies over eight pages. The stories span from the late 1970s to 2005. Of the seven women who testified anonymously, six reported alleged incidents that could be described as sexual assault. The last one reported sexist remarks. The report reveals a man of the Church who “does not stop himself from seeking to satisfy his urges, feeling authorized to commit acts reprehensible by the law of the time.” “I usually defend myself, but this was God. What do you do when it is God who makes you “accept this”?”, asks one of the women who calls herself a victim.

According to testimonies in the report, this behavior was known within certain structures founded by Abbé Pierre. One employee in particular assured that women were advised never to go see him alone.

Damning accounts

It was in June 2023 that a first woman contacted the managers of Emmaüs. She says she was sexually assaulted by Abbé Pierre in the early 1980s. He allegedly “inserted his tongue into [her] mouth in a brutal and totally unexpected way” after a trip to Italy. After this first testimony, Emmaüs decided to commission the Egaüeacute; firm to conduct an investigation into the subject. Twelve interviews were conducted, leading to the report that was made public. A second alleged victim also explained that she had been touched on the chest in a hotel room.

“We salute the courage of the people who have testified and, through their words, helped to bring these realities to light,” emphasize the leaders of Emmaüs France, Emmaüs International and the Abb&eacute-Pierre Foundation, in a press release posted on their website. “We believe them, we know that these intolerable acts have left “We leave traces and we stand by their side,” they added.