Three men in France on Wednesday were taken into custody as part of a probe into accusations of sexual abuse at a Catholic school, in a controversy that is putting Prime Minister Francois Bayrou under increasing pressure.
Prosecutors have been investigating around 100 complaints concerning alleged violence, sexual assault and rape committed at the Notre-Dame de Betharram school in southwestern France over several decades.
The three were detained for questioning on suspicion of aggravated rape and sexual assault, the Pau prosecutor's office said on Wednesday.
The men were born in 1931, 1955 and 1965, while acts under investigation are alleged to have taken place between 1957 and 2004, prosecutor Rodolphe Jarry said in a statement.
Critics say that the case has cast a shadow over the integrity of Bayrou, who served as the country's education minister between 1993 and 1997.
Some of Bayrou's children attended the boarding school near the southwestern city of Pau.
The left last week accused Bayrou of lying to parliament when he said he was unaware of the widespread claims.
Bayrou, a veteran centrist named by President Emmanuel Macron in December to end months of political crisis after inconclusive snap polls, does not have a majority in a divided parliament and depends on the support of the Socialists to survive.
He has survived multiple no-confidence motions over his budget partially due to support from the Socialists. Losing their backing over the school sexual abuse scandal would be a major blow.
Bayrou, 73, has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.
On Saturday, Bayrou, who is also mayor of Pau, met with former school boarders at the city hall and vowed to help investigate the claims.
A collective of Notre Dame de Betharram school survivors has so far recorded 132 complaints, receiving around 15 additional reports in the last few days.
But legal action is likely to come up against several obstacles, given that evidence of abuse dates from the 1950s into the 2000s.
Last February, a layperson employed by the Catholic school was dismissed shortly after the opening of the investigation.
At that time, he was the subject of at least eight complaints over alleged violence, sexual assault and rape.