“A huge disappointment and a very strong shock.” The successive waves of accusations of sexual assault against Abbé Pierre have left French society and associations linked to the man who was for decades the face of solidarity in shock.
Now, his name is associated with that of “a sexual predator”, as Adrien Chaboche, the general delegate of Emmaüs International, acknowledged on RTL on Monday, September 9.
“From now on, Abbé Pierre is, for everyone, but particularly for people who have been victims of violence in their lives, the image of a sexual predator,” he explained on the radio.
“Forced fellatio”, “sexual contact with a child”
According to a report by the specialist firm Egaé published on Friday 6 September, 17 new reports of sexual assault have been identified, in addition to the seven already collected a few weeks earlier.
These testimonies report “unsolicited contact on the breasts”, “forced kisses”, “forced fellatio”, “repeated sexual contact on a vulnerable person”, “repeated acts of sexual penetration” or even “sexual contact on a child”. Women who were adults or minors at the time of the events are concerned.
Faced with these revelations, Adrien Chaboche expressed “immense disappointment”, a “very strong shock at the seriousness of these facts”, with a first thought for the victims, in particular the child.
“What we knew, the current leaders of Emmaüs, is that Abbé Pierre had a sexual life and relationships with women. But we did not imagine for a moment that it was violence. That, for us, is a real shock and a real discovery,” he said.
Distancing oneself from the founder and his image
On Friday, the Abbé Pierre Foundation announced that it was changing its name to demonstrate its “total support” for the victims of the man who died in January 2007. At the same time, Emmaüs has initiated the permanent closure of the place in his memory located in Normandy.
A distancing that could continue, as Adrien Chaboche explained. “Emmaüs France has initiated a process to consult its general assembly on the modification of the logo that refers to the founder, there will be a change in the statutes since it is their official name, ‘Emmaus France Fondation Abbé Pierre'”.
This name could simply be erased, but this decision is up to the various bodies of the organization. A work of conscience on an individual and local scale. One thing is certain: the image of Abbé Pierre will not remain intact.
“We are deeply disappointed, the word is not strong enough. In the incomprehension that a man who understood so well the issues of human dignity and carried so well strong values of humanity and solidarity could be so catastrophically disastrous and violent in his relationship with women”, regretted the general delegate.
- BFMTV.com
