Three months after the poisoning of a baby in a People & Baby nursery in Lyon, the establishment is definitively closed, this is information from a source familiar with the matter on Wednesday. The Metropolis of Lyon has just made the request by mail to the Rhône prefecture, while for its part the People & Baby group has anticipated the decision by recording from August 8 the closure of its crèche located in the 3rd arrondissement of Lyons. The crèche had first been administratively closed for three months since the beginning of July, as announced by the Rhône prefecture.
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In addition, investigators from the General Inspectorate of Social Affairs (Igas) are expected in Lyon this Wednesday, according to information from franceinfo from a source familiar with the matter. The Minister of Solidarity, Jean-Christophe Combe, announced on July 11 that he had seized Igas after this tragedy which aroused a wave of emotion in France.
The request for the permanent closure of this crèche was made following the administrative inquiry launched by the Métropole de Lyon, in parallel with the judicial inquiry. This administrative investigation sought to determine whether any shortcomings noted within this structure could explain the gesture committed by the employee, Myriam J., on June 22 at the opening of the crèche. The latter admitted in police custody to having made Lisa, the 11-month-old girl, ingest Destop, a caustic product. The child died a few hours later.
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According to the conclusions of this administrative investigation, to which franceinfo had exclusive access, it appears first of all that on the day of the tragedy, June 22, the composition of the team and the management of the nursery complied with the regulations. But at the same time, the investigation made it possible to determine that for two years the group has not updated all the changes in the nursery team, in particular the name of the head of the structure. The PMI (Maternal and Child Protection) – empowered to control crèches – therefore did not know exactly who worked in the crèche and whether some of its employees were indeed authorized to work there. For her part, the employee accused of murder was before the tragedy unknown to justice.
To note these shortcomings, the services of the Métropole de Lyon visited the crèche twice, in July and on 25 August. “If these shortcomings do not explain the employee’s gesture, they do not make it possible to establish a climate of trust with the People & Baby group”, confides to franceinfo a source close to the file. For their part, the Igas investigators will in turn meet the crèche teams and the local managers of the People & Baby group to try to see if People & Baby has complied with the regulations. The mission of Igas is also to propose solutions, in particular to improve reception conditions and avoid situations of danger or mistreatment.
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Myriam J., the crèche employee is indicted for intentional homicide and placed in pre-trial detention in Lyon Corbas prison. She made her confession in three stages, first speaking of an accident, before admitting to having had the girl ingest Destop. The services of the Métropole de Lyon, which visited the establishment twice after the tragedy, were unable to check whether the dangerous sanitary products were properly stored in a secure place as must be the case in such structures and whether Destop was in places near children.