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Last week, students from Lycée Victor Hugo, a French international school in Marrakech, took to the streets to denounce an alleged sexual harassment case. This week, a student’s parent filed a complaint against the high school’s principalmaster H. M., who was accused of harassing his minor daughter.
The official was suspended last week by the Agency for French Education Abroad AEFE, which runs the school, after students rallied to voice their anger. However, the agency did turn to the Moroccan authorities after suspending the official in question.
Several sources told Yabiladi that the school’s principal disappeared after his suspension was announced and that he is currently in France. A source within the French school was surprised to see that the principal «was not heard by the Moroccan authorities after the case broke out and before he left for France».
The behind the scenes of a scandal
The case went viral after a student from the Victor Hugo school accused the principalmaster of sexually harassing her. Addressed to students’ parents, the young girl’s message was heavily shared on social media. In a letter, the girl denounced the «behavior» of the principalmaster, adding that other students «suffered from» the same thing and that it was time to «speak up».
«The girl in question is the daughter of a teacher who works at the same school. She was the first one to talk about the alleged harassment», Ali Laghrari, a former student at the French high school told Yabiladi on Thursday.
Laghrari said that the girl in question first «told her mother», who «met the principalmaster to confront him», he added. «Then other students decided to attract the attention of media, the authorities and the public opinion», he recalled.
A measure that ended up paying off. Shortly after the case broke out, AEFE announced that the official was suspended. An email was sent to people working at the school, stating that he is not part of the building anymore.
Although he said that he was shocked to know about the case and that «he had never noticed something wrong about the principal», Laghrari said that he «trusts the person who denounced the harassment».
The French embassy in Morocco
«An AEFE commission is expected to hold a meeting with students to talk about this case», Ali Laghrari told Yabiladi, adding that «the students are happy with what they did and think it was the right thing to do».
This scandal mobilized the French Embassy in Morocco, which sent last Friday a cultural advisor to the school. The official went to Marrakech Friday to meet high school students, parents and even alleged victims to talk about what happened. However, no psychological cell has been set up in the school, students and parents told Yabiladi.
The school’s deputy principal and AEFE couldn’t be reached for a comment.
