Further harrowing details have emerged from French media about Pierre-Alain Cottineau, a 32-year-old far-left LGBT activist and former candidate for Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s La France Insoumise party, who was indicted last year on charges of raping and torturing a disabled toddler placed in his care.
According to an investigation published by Le Parisien, authorities believe Cottineau may have operated at the center of a sadistic pedophile ring for years, one that exploited his position as a foster caregiver in the Loire-Atlantique department.
The case, described by investigators as pushing “all the limits of horror,” first came to light in September 2024 when Dutch police discovered an appalling video depicting serious child sexual abuse of a very young child on the darknet. The child, who was believed to be around three years old, appeared to be disabled and reliant on a gastric feeding tube.
The discovery prompted an emergency alert by France’s Office for Minors (OFMIN), which circulated a photo of the girl’s face to nursery schools across the country in a bid to identify the victim. Just over a week later, a headmistress in Couffé, near Nantes, recognized the child as one under state care who had been placed with Cottineau.
Although Cottineau had no prior criminal record and passed standard background checks before being approved as a foster caregiver in December 2023, police now suspect he had a long history of predatory behavior. Upon learning that authorities were closing in, he briefly fled to Tunisia, but returned to France and was arrested at Nantes airport. He was charged with rape accompanied by acts of torture or barbarity.
Subsequent digital forensics led police to additional footage posted in a Telegram group allegedly administered by Cottineau. One video reportedly showed the abuse of a five-month-old baby boy, identified as the first foster child placed in his care. Other footage featured multiple men participating in the abuse of a toddler, with one scene showing the child crawling on all fours, wearing a collar and leash.
Investigators identified two men, Guillaume (37) from Cholet and Frédéric (38) from Seine-Saint-Denis, who had stayed at Cottineau’s house on at least two occasions and were allegedly involved in the abuse. Frédéric, a web designer, had previously been reported for downloading child pornography. A third man, Kevin (32), a Belgian national with a prior conviction for child rape, was also later arrested and charged.
According to Le Parisien, one of the accused claimed that Cottineau sedated the children using Xanax, sleeping pills, and poppers hidden in yogurt before the abuse took place.
In online forums, Cottineau reportedly lured abusers by stating, “I have children available.” He allegedly coordinated visits from accomplices, including trips to local restaurants with victims shortly before suspected abuse took place.
Cottineau had previously run as a La France Insoumise (LFI) candidate in 2021 and was involved in LGBTQ+ and domestic violence prevention activism. His carefully maintained public image shocked investigators, who later learned from his own mother — also a child caregiver — that he had allegedly subjected a four-year-old child to a serious sexual assault when he was in his teens, shortly after coming out to his parents as a homosexual.
Remix News previously reported how LFI sought to distance itself from Cottineau following his arrest last year.
Manuel Bompard, the national coordinator of LFI, announced Cottineau’s immediate expulsion from the movement following news of his alleged depravity. “We discovered this with horror. This person has been excluded from La France Insoumise,” Bompard told AFP.
All references to Cottineau’s affiliation with the left-wing party were swiftly deleted from several social media accounts and political websites.
“We are deeply saddened and shocked,” said Andy Kerbrat, an LFI MP from Nantes. “We support the victims and are all the more affected as child protection is a priority of our movement.”
“I feel a deep disgust because this horror affects me most deeply,” he added.
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