Did a French politician have an orgy with young boys in Marrakesh?
France’s Socialist Party (PS) MP and former Culture Minister Jack Lang speaks during the Canal Plus channel TV broadcast show ‘Le Grand Journal’ on June 3, 2011. Lang reacted after French former Education Minister Luc Ferry alleged in a TV debate that a former minister was caught molesting boys at a Moroccan orgy and that senior figures covered it up.
That is what authorities in Morocco are now investigating, following claims by France's former education minster during a recent television interview, according to the Associated Press.
The allegations were made by Luc Ferry, the former head of France's ministry of education from 2002 to 2004, during an on-air debate on the "Le Grand Journal" show, which first aired on June 3.
Ferry did not name the ex-minister allegedly involved. He did, however, indicate that he had well-informed sources.
"Ferry said the Marrakesh incident was recounted to him "by high authorities of the state, in particular a prime minister." However, he added that he wouldn't name names because he has no proof and "if I give the name now … it's me who would be (investigated). I would surely be convicted even if I know the story is true."
Because France traditionally has very strict laws governing the right to privacy, few in the French media can speculate publicly about who the politician might be.
But Business Insider, citing England's Daily Mail, reports that the politician involved in the Moroccan sex orgy might be a former French minister of culture, Jack Lang.
The same report calls Lang an "ally" of Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the French former head of the International Monetary Fund who was implicated in a sex scandal last month. Strauss-Kahn resigned from the IMF after being arrested and charged with attempted rape in May. He stands accused of assaulting a female housekeeper in his New York City hotel.
While some in France are skeptical about these latest allegations, Moroccans said they were shocked.
Morocco has had a "staggering" increase in the reported number of molestation and sexual assaults on children, according to a 2009 Agence-France Presse report.
A non-profit in Morocco devoted to protecting children from sexual assault, Don't Touch My Child, documented 306 cases of sexual abuse against youth in 2008.