the director of the Hauts-de-Seine Mastery, Gaël Darchen, targeted by several complaints for sexual assault, sexual and moral harassment

In total, five complaints were filed in February and June against Gaël Darchen, 54, by adult women, the Nanterre prosecutor’s office said. When contacted, the management of the Hauts-de-Seine Maîtrise, including Gaël Darchen, assured that they were not aware of the complaints.

The director of the Maîtrise des Hauts-de-Seine, Gaël Darchen, is the subject of numerous testimonies and several complaints for acts of sexual and moral harassment and sexual assault, according to information from France Musique, France Culture and the Chained Duck Tuesday, July 9. A preliminary investigation has been opened.

In total, five complaints were filed in February and June against Gaël Darchen, 54, by adult women, the Nanterre prosecutor’s office said. The facts reported can be characterized as sexual and moral harassment, and as sexual assault for one of them.

In addition, 25 other testimonies, notably from former members of the Hauts-de-Seine Mastery, describe “constant sexual harassment behavior, kisses on the neck, hands around the waist, comments on physique and ambiguous propositions, lingering glances, sometimes at very young students, and this in front of everyone.”

Some denounce a climate of “isolation” in the premises, based at the Seine Musicale in Boulogne-Billancourt. According to a former student, Gaël Darchen maintains a relationship there “incestuous” with his students, an absolute hold and authority over them, pushing parents aside. On tour, cell phones are forbidden and the choirmaster has “decision-making on everything, including room allocation, who sleeps in which room, with whom.”

A behavior which provoked, according to this former student, “depressions, serial burnouts, post-traumatic stress syndrome, definitive abandonment of singing”as well as “several students” Who “have permanently lost their voice following their passage to the Maîtrise, it seems to me that this is highly symbolic.”

Contacted, the management of the Maîtrise des Hauts-de-Seine, notably Gaël Darchen, assures that they are not aware of the complaints. The Maîtrise des Hauts-de-Seine is one of the most prestigious musical groups in France, composed of 650 singers aged 5 to 30. The choir collaborates with the Paris Opera, the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, the Comédie-Française, and the Opéra-Comique.