Police in Paris have arrested three men in separate cases over the alleged sexual assault of 12 children across three schools in the French capital, a source close to the case said Friday.
In one incident, an activity organiser at a school in the 15th arrondissement (district) allegedly assaulted nine children aged between six and nine, the source told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.
In a separate case, the husband of a teacher at a 20th arrondissement nursery school was arrested on suspicion of sexually assaulting two children, aged three and four.
Police also arrested an activity organiser employed at a school in the 10th arrondissement for allegedly sexually assaulting a five-year-old girl.
At the same school, a teacher was taken into custody for the alleged sexual assault of six children between the ages of three and four but was not brought before a judge due to "insufficient evidence," according to the same source.
The arrests were carried out over the past two weeks, the source said.
They follow months of uproar in Paris over separate allegations that several school monitors physically or sexually abused kindergarten pupils.
The issue has emerged as a key focus of the mayoral race as Parisians prepare to head to the final round of polls on Sunday.
Socialist candidate Emmanuel Gregoire has pledged to overhaul training for school monitors.
The 48-year-old has spoken publicly about being a victim of sexual abuse in an after-school programme.
Meanwhile, centre-right politician Pierre-Yves Bournazel -- who agreed to merge his list with that of right-wing candidate Rachida Dati -- has urged her to commit to the overhaul of the city's recruitment of school monitors.
