PARIS (LifeSiteNews) — Multiple daycare workers have been arrested amid a giant child sexual abuse scandal gripping Paris.

French newspaper Le Monde reports an “unprecedented round of arrests in cases affecting Parisian after-school activities.” On May 20, a vast police raid was carried out at the Saint-Dominique preschool, one of the epicenters of the scandal in the French capital’s 7th district.

Sixteen people aged 18 to 68 were arrested and taken into custody on charges of varying nature and severity, including “rape of minors,” “sexual assault of minors,” and “violence against minors,” as confirmed by the Paris Public Prosecutor’s Office. Several of those arrested had already been suspended, while others had not.

Among those arrested, three are specialized nursery school staff (ASEM), three are city-employed educational supervisors at recreation centers (REV), and ten are youth workers.

The raid at the Saint-Dominique preschool is only the tip of the iceberg in the abuse scandals affecting daycares, kindergartens, and after-school facilities in Paris.

For months, parents and politicians in Paris have been shaken by reports of violence and abuse in the city’s after-school care centers, which were not always thoroughly investigated. The issue of abuse was recently a topic in the capital’s local election campaign.

Investigations have been launched into 84 kindergartens, around 20 elementary schools, and 10 after-school care centers, Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said in an interview with French radio station RTL on Sunday. “All Parisian districts are affected,” she said.

As the new socialist mayor of Paris, Emmanuel Grégoire, announced in early April, 78 after-school care workers have been suspended from work since the beginning of this year alone, 31 of them on suspicion of sexual violence. In 2025, 30 daycare or school employees were suspended, 16 of them on suspicion of sexual violence.

Grégoire announced a €20 million ($23.26 million) action plan that includes rapid and transparent reporting of suspected cases, parental involvement and support, and structural improvements. “We must rethink everything from the ground up, with one goal in mind: zero tolerance,” said the new socialist mayor.