The accusations against Abbé Pierre have stunned and saddened employees and customers

Abbé Pierre, an icon for decades in the fight against poverty, is accused of sexual assault on at least seven women. The facts they testified to span more than thirty years

The acts attributed to Abbé Pierre were committed between the end of the 1970s and the beginning of the 2000s, according to testimonies compiled in a report, commissioned by Emmaus International and the Abbé Pierre Foundation and made public on Wednesday July 17.

At the foot of one of the Emmaüs Solidarité buildings in Paris, there is a large commemorative plaque celebrating the career of Abbé Pierre. But since these accusations, the association’s employees will probably never look at this plaque in the same way again: “We were all surprised and shocked,” says Camille, “because Abbé Pierre is still a role model for us. But above all, we have a thought for the victims.”

“It is important that the Emmaus movement took the lead, listened to the victims and believed in their words, and took things seriously.”

Camille, Emmaüs employee

to franceinfo

Camille will be the only one to agree to speak to us. But several employees anonymously share their amazement with us: “We are all shockedone of them tells us. This is really not the image we want to convey.”

A few hundred meters away, in front of an Emmaüs store, the customers of this thrift store, like Emmanuel and Cathy, are also stunned: “It’s shocking. If even a man who is supposed to be honest and of faith behaves like this, it’s disconcerting.”Cathy laments. “It’s a bit sadcontinues Emmanuel, because he is still a figure that we could not suspect. These cases have been multiplying for several years, I think that it is a bad blow for Emmaüs.”

“There had already been some stains on them recently, particularly in their relations with employees, they didn’t need that!”

Emmanuel, Emmaüs customer

to franceinfo

Indeed, several investigations published recently in the press had pointed out the precarious working conditions of certain employees. Yanis, a salesman in the shop, hopes that these accusations targeting Abbé Pierre will not tarnish the image of Emmaüs: “Abbé Pierre’s mistakes in his personal life are entirely his fault, and we should not take this into account against an association that wants to do good for people in precarious situations.” Yanis says that it is thanks to Emmaüs that he was able to find a job and reintegrate, he says, into society.