The National Assembly voted on Tuesday to create a commission of inquiry into crèches, proposed by rebellious deputies, in order to clarify the “economic model” of a sector where the abuses of certain establishments have been highlighted in recent years. month.
The LFI proposal was adopted by 178 votes to 161, with the support of the entire left, the independent Liot group and the National Rally, despite opposition from the right and a large part of the presidential camp.
The presidential camp divided
The initial version of the resolution adopted on Tuesday, carried by LFI MP William Martinet, only targeted private nurseries, but the scope of the future parliamentary commission of inquiry was broadened to the entire sector, at the request of the RIGHT.
The Les Républicains (LR) group did not provide its support, however, judging that the approach was “burdensome” and “without nuance” with regard to private players in the sector.
The presidential camp was divided, with the Macronist group Renaissance and the MoDem voting against an initiative that was useless in their eyes, unlike most of the voters of their allies in the Horizons group.
Alarming report
LFI’s initiative is based in particular on the conclusions of an alarming report published in April by the General Inspectorate of Social Affairs (Igas), commissioned by the government after the death of an 11-month-old baby in a private nursery in Lyon in 2022.
The inspectors noted a “very disparate” quality of reception in the sector and collected public and private testimonies from professionals and parents, describing situations resembling mistreatment in certain establishments.
“Drifts of financialization”
Two investigative books published in September – The price of the cradle And Babyzness – have once again put the subject on the table, by shedding harsh light on the mode of operation of certain structures in the private sector, where a race for performance is being played out to the detriment of children.
“Mistreatment does not fall from the sky, nor can it be reduced to a succession of individual errors or malicious acts” but “it finds its origin in the economic model of crèches”, estimated William Martinet in the hemicycle. Referring to the Orpea group retirement home scandal, the rebel fears that “the same excesses of financialization” will be repeated in early childhood.
The private daycare sector is essentially dominated by four large groups (Les Petits Chaperons Rouges, Babilou, La Maison Bleue, People & Baby), some of which are backed by investment funds.