Call for testimonies Your child is enrolled in a private nursery and the revelations of mistreatment in this sector make you jump? Tell us about it

In an investigative book to be published on Wednesday, investigative journalist Victor Castanet denounces the practices of certain groups of private daycare centers, combined with the “inaction” of public authorities, to the detriment of the health of the babies in their care.

Revelations about an early childhood business. According to the investigations of journalist Victor Castanet, the “voracity” of certain groups of private nurseries, combined with the“inaction” public authorities, has had effects “dramatic” on the sector and on children. His new book, entitled The Ogres (Flammarion), referring, he explained, to “the obsession of groups to grow ever bigger”, comes out on Wednesday, September 18. It reveals abuses and a race to fill up which could have been at the origin of cases of mistreatment, burnout of professionals engaged in the field or even non-compliance with the supervision rate. A situation already denounced in April 2023 in a report from the General Inspectorate of Social Affairs.

According to the journalist, the whole “groups from the sector (People & Baby, Les Petits Chaperons rouges, Babilou, La Maison bleue, etc.)”have “a responsibility in this low-cost dynamic”. “In direct management, a cradle costs around 12,000 euros per year”explained Victor Castanet on France Inter on Tuesday morning. The first private operators “arrived with offers of 8,000 euros”, then others “who have slashed prices to conquer new market shares” with cradles at “4,000 or 3,500 euros”, he noted. “The case of low-cost implies the responsibility of town halls, communities and ministries”also assures the journalist, recalling that the early childhood market is “open to the private sector”.

What do you think? As a parent, have you experienced such difficulties, or even mistreatment, when your baby was enrolled in daycare? Are you angry following these revelations? Or do you feel guilty because you enrolled him, for lack of an alternative? We are interested in your testimony. Many people have already reacted in the franceinfo.fr live, and we would like to give you more of a voice.

Your answers will be consulted in the coming days by our journalists. The testimonies that caught our attention may give rise to direct contact. Your contact details will remain confidential.