University of Paris accused

The University of Paris, a new entity resulting from the merger of Paris Descartes and Paris Diderot in January 2020, was charged on April 15th for “undermining the integrity of the corpse.”

On Thursday, Agence France-Presse learned from sources familiar with the matter that the University of Paris had been charged in mid-April with investigating the unfavorable conditions for preserving the remains at the Body Donation Center (CDC).

The University of Paris, a new entity resulting from the merger of Paris Descartes and Paris Diderot in January 2020, was charged on April 15th for “undermining the integrity of the corpse.”

“It is an indictment that has no direct connection with the facts about the body donation center, at a time when the University of Paris did not exist,” said Agence France-Presse May Patrick Mizunov, who is defending the university.

Then the CDC relied on the University of Paris Descartes, known as the Faculty of Medicine.

A former preparer is already accused

According to the lawyer, this part of the case is due to the discovery of dozens of bones in 2020, during the searches conducted in the investigation that followed the scandal, when the center was already closed and the building was supposed to be cleaned.

In this judicial information, an indictment has already been brought against a former autopsy trainer who would have worked for the CDC from 1975 to 2011 in December. The Marian Weekly newspaper reported that human bones and jewelry were found from the remains during a search of his home.

Dilapidated buildings, rotten remains eaten by rats, suspicion of commodification of corpses … in an article published at the end of November 2019, Express He denounced the “inappropriate conditions” for preserving the remains of “the thousands of people who donated their bodies to information.”

These discoveries, which caused a scandal, prompted the Minister of Higher Education, Frederick Vidal, to order the closure of the “Temple of the French Anatomy”, which was founded in 1953 and which used to host several hundred bodies each year.

‘Grave ethical violations’

A preliminary investigation was opened, then investigative judges were assigned the investigation in July 2020.

Last month, the General Inspectorate of Social Affairs (Igas) and the General Inspectorate of Education and Mathematical Research (Igésr) estimated in an administrative investigation that the University of Paris Descartes was responsible for “serious ethical violations” in the management of the CDC.

The report referred in particular to “the loss of reference points (…) between the preparers and the interventionists” on the bodies, and asked about “the desire to harm or harm the corpses” of “some of the miners.”

Investigators heard the former president of the University of Paris Descartes, Frederic Dardel, on November 12 while in police custody. He appeared without trial at this point.