We called it a reformatory. Between 1960 and 2019, hundreds of children and adolescents passed into the hands of fundamentalist Catholics who managed the village of Riaumont, in Liévin, in Pas-de-Calais. A book The child martyrs of Riaumont: investigation into a fundamentalist boarding school, which has just been published*, recounts, through numerous testimonies, the appalling daily life of this center perched on a small wooded hill, in the heart of the mining basin, but out of sight. Interview with its author, the journalist Ixchel Delaporte, whose investigative work lasted two years.
How did you come up with the idea of investigating this children’s village?
The starting point is another book I wrote on Vincent Lambert. I revealed the fact that he had been abused by a priest. I tried to find out if this priest had made other victims. Among these victims, there was Bruno, a former resident of Riaumont, who agreed to testify openly to the suffering, which goes as far as rape, that he experienced on a daily basis. I then left to look for other testimonies.
Was it difficult to find witnesses?
By rummaging through the departmental and national archives, I found lists of children who were sent to Riaumont. Because from 1960, these children, often from the settlements, were placed there by the departmental directorate of social affairs. The place was subsidized by the state. You have to put it in context. The 1960s correspond to the first closures of the mines and to significant child delinquency. The day price is low and there are not many places that can accommodate children for several years.
It was a place considered respectable…
Absolutely. Its founder, Albert Revet, is chaplain at the College of Liévin. He is a respected notable, tall, sturdy and with a lot of banter. In this project to create a center to “save the souls of children born of sin”, as he says, he is supported by a judge from Béthune and by the socialist town hall. So much so that the current mayor of Liévin did not wish to be interviewed on the subject. The land on which the village is built is ceded by the Houillères. For the institutions, Albert Revet does charity work, while he sets up a real sect.
When do the first suspicions appear?
Some children, who initially attended the college of Liévin, complained about the violence, but no one listened to them and the punishments silenced the most talkative. Some speak of having been scalded, for example. In 1978, a college teacher, Françoise, was the first to sound the alarm. Two judges produce a damning report. A few press articles came out at the time. In 1982, the new Keeper of the Seals, Robert Badinter, ended up withdrawing ministerial approval.
However, the center will continue to operate…
In 1989, a private school without contract, called Saint Jean Bosco, was created within the village and the children continued to be placed, but directly by the families. And the abuse continues. Violence and the law of the jungle are erected into an education system. Between the religious and the children, but also between the children themselves. There are rapes of the greatest on the smallest. It’s the boarding school of horror.
How many people agreed to testify in this book?
About fifty and from all eras. The oldest is now 75 years old. But I also interviewed former educators. I realized that some residents, who were on the side of the strongest, felt they had lived their stay well. This work also made it possible to discover that a close friend of Martine Aubry, André Dupon, today director of the Vitamine T integration association, was also part of the management of this center.
What is the situation of the village of Riaumont today?
Following a large number of complaints filed, an investigation was opened in 2013. It led to the indictment of eleven people for rape, sexual assault and mistreatment. The community ended up undergoing an administrative closure in 2019. Still, children have suffered for almost sixty years. There was a suicide in 2001 and the case was closed. Everyone bears their share of responsibility in this affair.
* 22 euros, Editions du Rouergue.