Helen Perlant, daughter of French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou, has publicly accused clergy at the Notre-Dame de Betharram boarding school of severe physical abuse. In an emotional recounting, she describes being assaulted by a priest at age 14 during summer camp. Despite her harrowing experience, Perlant claims that her father was unaware of the incident. This accusation, coupled with numerous others against the school, has tarnished Bayrou's political image and raised questions about his knowledge of such incidents during his political career, a claim he denies.
"One night when we were unpacking our sleeping bags, (Father) Lartiguet suddenly grabbed me by the hair, dragged me across the floor for several metres, then punched and kicked me all over, especially in the stomach."
"Betharram was organised like a sect or a totalitarian regime exercising psychological pressure on pupils and teachers so they stayed silent."
"I kept quiet about it for 30 years; perhaps unconsciously I wanted to protect my father from political blows he was receiving locally."
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