Ballets roses


The ballets roses was a sex abuse scandal that was publicized in 1959 in France. In a fashionable country house near Paris, belonging to the French Senate, a group of girls aged 15 to 17 performed "ballets" attended by prominent figures of the political and social worlds, notably, André Le Troquer, then president of the National Assembly. The performances were alleged to have ended in orgies. The scandal came to light when four mothers of the girls became suspicious. Twenty-three people were charged in relation to the ballets roses, including Le Troquer, who was charged with "offenses against morality," and the actress Elisabeth Pinajeff.