Inspired by Gisèle Pelicot's decision to make her harrowing drug and rape trial public, the parents of the children agreed to open the proceedings. In France, trials involving children are usually held behind closed doors.
According to their lawyers, some parents said they were following the example of Pelicot and her motto that "shame must change sides" to abusers, not victims.
The Paris case emerged in April 2025 after several children told their parents they allegedly had been sexually abused at a nursery school.
The defendant, 36, who has not been publicly identified, is accused of assaulting children while supervising them in bathrooms, during lunch breaks and in after-school care between August 2024 and April 2025. He has denied any sexual abuse against children.
The children were aged between three and five at the time. They don't have to attend the trial. A judge has read their testimonies to investigators.
The defendant is also accused of sexually harassing two co-workers and sexually assaulting one of them. He faces up to 10 years in prison. His lawyer would not speak with The Associated Press before the trial.
Barka Zerouali, co-founder of parents' group MeToo Ecole, or MeToo School, said at a protest outside the courthouse on Tuesday "there needs to be a national wake-up call at some point".
Protesters carried a banner reading: "Because no child should be afraid to go to school".
Families said the trauma of the alleged assaults was compounded by what they described as a struggle to be taken seriously by authorities. An initial warning raised by a mother months earlier was apparently ignored by the school.
Rebecca Royer, a lawyer representing families, said "what we are expecting is a real turning point in child protection, meaning we expect the government and municipalities to implement real measures to protect children, but also to provide real resources".
Prosecutor Laure Beccuau last week said investigations were underway involving 84 nursery schools, about 20 elementary schools and about 10 daycare centres in Paris.
Paris Mayor Emmanuel Grégoire said 78 school and after-school staff members had been suspended in the city since the beginning of 2026, including 31 over suspicions of sexual violence.
