Babies left to cry in a corner, missing meals, diapers that are not changed… The ill-treatment observed in some private crèches had already been denounced in a report by the General Inspectorate of Social Affairs (Igas) released in April. In The price of the cradle*, which comes out this Friday in bookstores, Daphné Gastaldi and Mathieu Périsse in turn evoke cases of abuse and neglect, and highlight the economic system that favors them. Mathieu Périsse explains the mysteries of this system to us.
Even before its release, your book is making noise. Do you think it will have the resonance of the book the gravediggers, who had denounced the abuse in nursing homes?
The Gravediggers started from scratch, because what was happening in certain nursing homes had not yet been revealed. For our work, it is different. It comes after the death of a little girl in Lyon in 2022, to whom an auxiliary would have ingested caustic soda. This drama triggered the Igas report, which confirmed cases of abuse with chilling testimonies.
Our investigation, which was spread over a year, accompanies this awareness. We feel that the subject arouses the attention of the general public and the employees concerned, who are waiting for measures. And that our work also raises fears among companies in the sector and the government.
Precisely, did you receive any pressure from the four major groups (Grandir, Babilou, La maison Bleue, People & Baby) that you pin in the book?
No. We asked them, but only La maison bleue agreed to receive us. The other three responded to us in writing, reminding us of the law on defamation. But our investigation is solid and we have verified all our information. It is not a sum of unchecked testimonies.
Your book describes the frantic race for profitability of private crèches, which in the end manage to make a profit. Is that why they have multiplied in recent years?
A report from the General Inspectorate of Finance published in 2021 showed that the average profitability of crèches was around 6%. A figure that hides great disparity, because some show losses while others show a profit rate of 25%. Their development really started in 2003, when these structures were able to benefit from CAF subsidies. The tax credits granted to companies reserving places for their employees have also been beneficial. This explains their development: today, a quarter of nurseries in France are private. And over the past ten years, the majority of places have been created in the private sector.
You talk about systemic violence. Aren’t you afraid of putting all private crèches in the same bag?
Systemic violence does not mean systematic violence. We are not saying that all crèches are abusive. But there are structural problems and reception conditions tend to deteriorate. Moreover, the four groups in the sector adopt a similar logic: filling policy, search for profitability, etc. The managers of crèches are under the leadership of regional managers who hold them accountable. They have become managers.
You have collected testimonials from parents declaring that their children were hungry when they left the crèche. Is this problem of undernourishment very common?
There is no direct instruction given to the directors to save meals. But in one crèche we investigated, 10% of the director’s bonus was linked to the match between the rate of meals ordered and the number of children present. Consequently, the temptation to foresee the absence of a certain number of children in order to order fewer meals exists. In a nursery in the Bouches-du-Rhône, three to five meals a week were missing.
In these cases, professionals tap into the relief portions or split portions in half. To avoid this kind of drift, private crèches should protect their food budget.
You show that these structures do not always respect the legislation on the supervision of children. Are they not sufficiently controlled by the services of the Maternal and Child Protection (PMI)?
We did not find nurseries operating permanently with a sub-supervision, it would be very risky legally for her. But we have collected evidence showing that at certain times, such as first thing in the morning, late in the day or between noon and 2 p.m., the ratio of one adult to five non-walking babies, for example, does not is not respected.
Directors also anticipate the absence of babies on certain days to accommodate others. It looks like overbooking. Regarding the PMIs, only a quarter have a full-time person in charge of monitoring the crèches, which is clearly insufficient. In 2020, less than 10% of crèches were inspected each year.
Do the working conditions make the auxiliaries’ missions impossible?
It is possible to do your job well, with a stable team and a strong sense of commitment. But this is not the case in certain structures, where the turnover is incessant.
Nurseries often display very well-crafted educational projects, but which are not applied because of the tight flow of work. Ditto: there is often no time to analyze professional practice in a group, even though that is what makes it possible to progress. We deal with the most urgent. Some crèches have become baby factories where employees are overworked.
Are parents always aware of the neglect suffered by their children?
No, because they don’t spend a lot of time in the nursery and the babies don’t talk! Sometimes they sense that something is wrong, but they don’t know what. And it is very difficult to find evidence.
What actions should governments take immediately?
We are at a crossroads. We can still move the lines. Means should be given back to PMI to ensure controls.
What advice would you give to parents with a child enrolled in one of these crèches?
Do not hesitate to ask management questions about the number of employees, their training, etc.