Her goddaughter Annie Porte, the first child born in an Emmaüs estate, says she is “devastated”

“I can hardly believe it, I’m devastated”declared Annie Porte, goddaughter of Abbé Pierre and the first child to be born in an Emmaüs housing project in 1951 in Laval (Mayenne), on Wednesday July 17, on France Bleu Mayenne, after the revelation of testimonies reporting acts of sexual assault committed by Abbé Pierre against several women.

An iconic figure in the fight against exclusion, Abbé Pierre, who died in 2007, is accused by several women of sexual assaults committed between the end of the 1970s and 2005, according to an independent report commissioned by Emmaüs International, Emmaüs France and the Abbé Pierre Foundation and published on Wednesday.

The one who shared the cover of Paris Match with Abbé Pierre in 1954 is said “surprised by these accusations”. “It’s easy to smear Abbé Pierre, to say things about him, he’s dead, he can’t defend himself”she denounces. She assures that she has not “Never” had to endure inappropriate behavior from his godfather while he was alive.

“I spent a lot of time with him, I went on vacation to his place, I never had any problems of this kindshe says. We welcomed him into our family, there was never anything. He always behaved like a grandfather, someone very kind, correct.” Annie Porte still calls for us to “Listen to these women, who have the right to speak, to express themselves”. “But I, personally, don’t believe it.”she concludes.