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Paedophile Scandal Rocks France
Sarkozy plans chemical castration for paedophiles
A shocking paedophile scandal has dominated the headlines in France as the holiday season winds down and the government prepares to address a new round of economic reforms.
The scandal centres on the case of Francis Evrard, a 61 year old convicted paedophile who was released early July. Within weeks, he had kidnapped and abused a five year old boy in a garage in the northern town of Roubaix. Police found Evrard with the boy (named as "Enis" in the press) shortly afterwards, and discovered the paedophile had a stash of the drug Viagra on him. Questioned about this, he claimed that the prison doctor had given him the drug; Officers scoffed at the possibility, until it became clear that the doctor had indeed prescribed Viagra for the serial offender just before his release.
The doctor claims he had not seen Evrard's record and said that the prisoner had told him that he wanted to have relationships with women. However, the prison officers' union in the Caen detention centre dismissed the doctor's excuses, saying that the doctor would have been aware that three-quarters of those held there had committed child sex offences. Furthermore, they said, Evrard had said while in prison that he hoped to travel to countries where "it was easy to obtain" children for sex.
President Nicolas Sarkozy, who has come in for criticism in the past for his hard-line approach to paedophiles and judges who release offenders early, called an emergency cabinet session following a meeting with the victim's father and grandfather, who had demanded to know why Evrard had been freed while he still posed a risk.
The outcome of the government meeting is a tougher line on sex offenders. Sarkozy said he wanted "voluntary chemical castration" for paedophiles; there would be no hope of parole for child sex offenders; those who refused castration would be detained "as long as they remain a danger" - possibly a lifetime behind bars. Those who are freed, he said, would be subject to much tougher monitoring.
"Everything must be done to make sure this won't happen again", Sarkozy said.
A French newspaper reported today that Evrard has admitted to "knowing" forty children, but that he has only faced justice for three. In 1989 he was sentenced to 27 years in prison for the rape of two children: He was released in July after serving two-thirds of his sentence.
The government also plans a "closed hospital" in Lyon for paedophiles, to open by 2009. However, the head of Lyon's health service confessed he was shocked by the proposals, which he said came without consultation with either his staff or the voters of the city.
The health chief's complaints are likely to be only the first of many: France's opposition (many of whom are still on holiday) are likely to denounce what some in the media see as the government's knee-jerk populism, while constitutional courts will need to ponder proposals such as lifetime detention and chemical castration. However, the President appears to have the backing of the public on his tough line (over 90 percent of voters in a poll on Le Figaro supported chemical castration).
Sarkozy used the expression "hormone treatment" while announcing the move, but added "you can call it chemical castration if you like, the words don't frighten me."
