The cadet officers of the Saint-Cyr Coëtquidan military academy belong to a prestigious school, which nevertheless has its dark side. “The Eye of 8 p.m.” reveals testimonies and documents illustrating accusations of sexual abuse and misogyny within the military academy. Justice has opened three investigations.
For almost two centuries, the Triumph has been an unmissable event for every Saint-Cyrian. According to our information, it was on the sidelines of this celebration, during which cadet officers christen their promotions, that a sexual assault allegedly took place on the weekend of July 22 and 23, 2023. The episode is reported by a member of the school. He testifies anonymously to “L’Œil du 20 Heures”. “During the Triumph weekend, an officer pinned a student against the wall to forcibly kiss herhe relates. She managed to escape to report directly to her section chief. The latter’s response was explicit. : ‘Have you thought about this officer’s career? His family ?’ He dissuaded her from speaking.“
According to our information, no prosecution has been initiated. The school assures, to date, that it has no knowledge of the facts reported. In recent months, at Saint-Cyr, the climate has been particularly difficult for some students. This is illustrated by this other written testimony which has reached us: “Since the fall, things have deteriorated considerably for the women of the battalion. Out of 18 girls, two are on sick leave, one attempted to end her life and two others experienced sexual assault.“
Three investigations opened by the courts
According to a former Saint-Cyrian woman we contacted, harassment also affects those who try to denounce abuses. “At school, the toughest students call those who talk to women ‘souzes’… That means ‘subhumans'”she says.
Following several reports, the military academy claims to have taken administrative measures. “In one of the cases, the offending student received a sanction of 30 days of suspension and the termination of his contract. In two other cases, the command investigation was unable to establish the truth“, specifies the Saint-Cyr communications department. In addition, the school claims to have transmitted reports to the Rennes public prosecutor. According to our sources, three investigations were opened last November.
“Values” that question
When we spoke with her about the events that allegedly took place in Saint-Cyr, Weyneshet Lavocat did not seem surprised. His son Mickael was a student there until his death. “If he had died in combat, I would have understood. But not like that, not like that“, says this caregiver who lives in Bas-Rhin. On February 9, 2016, Second Lieutenant Lavocat was found dead with a gunshot to the head, his rifle near him, in the toilets of the camp where he was stationed. His mother filed a complaint. Investigations for “provocation to suicide” and “altering the crime scene” took place. French justice dismissed the case butThe case is currently under investigation at the European Court of Human Rights.
At the start of his schooling, in September 2013, a military psychologist met Mickael Lavocat. At the end of the meeting, a report was written, as is the case for each student. We have obtained this document. And one of the sentences asks questions. “He is quite reserved at first and does not necessarily adhere to Saint-Cyrian values, especially those concerning the rejection of girls or foreigners for example.“, writes the lieutenant who conducted the interview.
Are these comments made by the student and reported by the psychologist or are they values openly assumed by Saint-Cyr? The institution did not respond to us on the meaning of these remarks.. “It’s astonishing to write things like this”, notes Weyneshet Lavocat. Before dying, his son would have revealed to him that he had been given additional tours of duty after trying to defend female cadets. “The girls, when they were attacked by his colleagues, he did not accept. And he was sanctioned because of that“, she remembers.
“We protect the ‘Saint-Cyrian caste’”
In the ranks of Saint-Cyr, are sexism and misogyny widespread? During our investigation, we discovered the Facebook page “Poupée de Cyr”. Internet users presenting themselves as students offer “PAC” t-shirts, in other words “Cyrard whore”. An insult to designate the students’ companions. On this point, Saint-Cyr indicates that the page was reported to the Defense Intelligence and Security Directorate. However, the army intelligence service was unable to identify the creators of the page.
We were able to get in touch with a person from management, currently stationed in Saint-Cyr. “In general, the excesses are due to a radical minority: the “tradis”, she explains. They are sometimes the sons of senior officers or generals and this explains why the military authorities do not act. We protect the ‘Saint-Cyrian caste’.”
For Guillaume Ancel, retired officer and author of a work on Saint-Cyr (Saint-Cyr, at the Grande Muette school, Flammarion, 2024), the abuses would be tolerated by the command in the name of protecting the institution. Guillaume Ancel is one of the rare former students to publicly denounce what he calls a code of silence.
“The culture of silence is a culture of covering up the most reprehensible things.”
Guillaume Ancel, former student of Saint-Cyrat “The Eye of 8 p.m.”
“Saint-Cyr is a watertight container for everything. And above all, it is silence that imposes itself much more than the laws of the Republic“, he adds. An accusation that General Hervé de Courrèges, who currently commands Saint-Cyr Coëtquidan, firmly denies. “The military academy applies zero tolerance on all serious matters related to harassment and discrimination. For four years, our establishment has set up a network of 40 civilian military correspondents but also officer cadets allowing potential victims and witnesses to come and report these facts.“, wants to let the senior officer know.
Asked to react to the facts denounced in this investigation, the Ministry of the Armed Forces says it is discovering the situation. He assures that those who speak will be listened to and that, if there are mistakes, they will be heavily sanctioned.
Among our sources (non-exhaustive list):
Report from the Court of Auditors, Saint-Cyr Coëtquidan military academy, 2024
Saint-Cyr, at the Grande Muette schoolGuillaume Ancel, Flammarion, 2024.
Public Prosecutor of Rennes.
Ministry of the Armed Forces.