VIDEO. An Emmaüs community accused of exploiting minors and the homeless

The Emmaus community of Montauban is definitely in turmoil. After the accusations of embezzlement targeting its director, Christian Calmejane, for which he was cleared, the prosecution opened a new investigation, this time for “concealed work committed against vulnerable people”. This week, the four Emmaüs Tarn-et-Garonne sites were searched by 70 gendarmes and eight URSSAF agents.

It was a former volunteer, now in conflict with Emmaüs, who raised the alarm about practices she had observed. She testifies in this extract from “Complementary investigation”.

Until 2020, Zina was deputy treasurer of Emmaüs in Montauban. On the schedules (which she kept), she noted the presence of several minors, aged between 14 and 16 according to her. Undeclared, these teenagers were assigned to the green space, the second-hand clothes sale or the nursery, and this on a regular basis, she says. “We can’t function without it, so we continue like this,” reportedly opposed management to his remarks.

Zina’s testimony seems to be corroborated by a board of directors report, where we can read this: “Given the number of holidays, the teenagers were asked to be on the activities: sales, sorting, and the crib.” Five other witnesses told “Complément d’investigation” that they saw young people working for the community during school holidays at that time, outside of any legal framework.

That’s not all: according to the volunteer, management also put homeless people to work. The community of Montauban welcomes a certain number of them as part of 115 – emergency accommodation places financed by the State. On site, the beneficiaries do not have companion status, but the management still made them work – without declaring them, according to Zina, to “10 euros per day (…) in liquid. It’s illegal work, clearly.”

The situation was discussed by the board of directors. We find traces of this in a report from 2020, which expresses concern about cases of “concealed work that can be compared to slavery, to the extent that these people are entirely dependent on the association”.

The director did not wish to comment on these new accusations. When the journalists went there, Christian Calmejane was on sick leave. The deputy who receives them denies any participation of minors in solidarity activities.

“Additional investigation” contacted a former executive of Emmaüs France, to whom Zina had sent an alert letter in August 2020. According to this source, the director Christian Calmejane would have been protected by the president of Emmaüs France from time, who would have recommended ignoring this letter. When contacted, she denied having given such instructions. She specifies that she launched an audit at the time, and describes the whistleblower as “bitter volunteer” And “angry”.

In this audit that journalists were able to consult, we can read that adolescents may be encouraged to “discover the activity of Emmaüs” for “educational purposes”.

When questioned, the general delegate of Emmaüs France Tarek Daher recalled: “The priority for children in communities is education,” and adds that “if they want to help out, they must do so in a completely secure environment, like a teenager would go babysitting.”

Excerpt from “Emmaüs: give us back Abbé Pierre!”, broadcast in “Complément d’investigation” on June 6, 2024.

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