France’s Abbé Pierre accused of sexual assault by seven women

The Catholic priest Abbé Pierre, known for his work in helping the poor and homeless, has been accused of sexual assault by seven women, the charities he founded have announced.

Abbé Pierre, who died aged 94 in 2007, is alleged to have inappropriately touched the breasts of several women between 1975 and 2005, Emmaüs International, Emmaüs France and the Abbé Pierre Foundation said in a joint statement on Wednesday (July 17). 

He is also alleged to have made inappropriate sexual advances on several of the women, including a minor.

“These incidents concerned employees and volunteers in some of our member organisations and young women in Abbé Pierre’s personal circle,” the foundations said.

“Our organisations salute the courage of the people who have testified and made it possible through their words to bring the realities to light, and we believe them,” they added. 

The charities commissioned an independent report a year ago after first being informed that Abbé Pierre had allegedly assaulted a woman. 

The group that carried out the investigation spoke to seven women, one of whom was a minor at the time of an alleged assault. 

What is he accused of?

The seven women alleged that Abbé Pierre deliberately and inappropriately touched their breasts, made sexual advances, or tried to kiss them:

• "We were talking in his office, and he just put his hands on my chest."
• "I talking with him in an enclosed space at the bottom of a stairwell and he seized my left breast."
• "When he was in a wheelchair, I went to greet him and he grabbed at my breasts."
• "As we were saying goodbye he just stuck his tongue in my mouth in a completely brutal and unexpected manner."

Several of the victims also made it clear that they either hid from him after the aggressions or made it very clear that his behaviour was unacceptable.

"Once he tried to do the same thing again," said one victim. "I told him that it bothered me enormously and that it shouldn't happen again. It never happened again."

There are also strong suspicions that his behaviour was widely known in the charity community but covered up to avoid embarrassment - at the expense of the victims.

"I heard about it late on," said a witness who worked at one of Abbé Pierre's charities. "They used to warn the secretaries to watch out for him. As he grew older, he couldn't hold back his instincts.

"He just couldn't stop himself from touching women's breasts."

'Immense shock'

Abbé Pierre enjoyed an almost saintly reputation in France, not least due to his charity work.

He had been named the Personnalité préférée des Français, France's favorite public personality, 16 times since the award's inception in 1986. 

“The shock has been immense for us. The priority is to be totally transparent and to do everything we can to help and support the people who have had the courage to share their experiences,” said Marie-Hélène Le Nédic, president of the Abbé Pierre Foundation. 

The charities said a confidential system had been set up for collecting testimonies and providing support to anyone who comes forward. It said “it is reasonable to believe” there are other victims. 

Emmaüs also praised the "courage" of the women who have come forward, adding their testimonies show that it is time for the charity to "update its reality".

Pierre, born Henri Grouès in 1912, fought in the French Resistance during World War Two. He went on to serve as an MP during the late 1940s and 1950s for a constituency in Meurthe-et-Moselle before dedicating himself entirely to charity work.

He founded homelessness charity Emmaüs in 1949, which subsequently spread to dozens of countries around the world.