“We are waiting to know where public money is spent in large private groups”, reacts the “No baby in the deposit” collective.

“The system in which we are a product of mistreatment” estimates Tuesday, November 28 on franceinfo Julie Marty-Pichon, spokesperson for the “No baby in the locker” collective. The National Assembly voted to create a commission of inquiry into crèches, at the initiative of La France insoumise.

The spokesperson welcomes the establishment of this commission of inquiry: “This is the first time that parliamentarians have mobilized, that it has become a real subject of strong political orientation. That’s so much the better” rejoiced Julie Marty-Pichon. “We are waiting to finally be able to know where public money is spent in large private groups.” She recalls that “these structures are mainly financed by the State, by Cnaf” and believes that “This public money is not there for companies to make a profit on the back of welcoming babies.”

A “systemic problem”

LFI’s initiative follows the 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 last year. “We are facing institutional mistreatment”explains Julie Marty-Pichon, “it is because we are not given the means to do so that we end up in the excesses in which we find ourselves”. For her, this “systemic problem” comes from the fact that “over the past 20 years, the early childhood sector has become a market”. “When you know that daycare companies make margins of around 6 to 7%, we wonder if we are in social work or if we are in profitability”asks the spokesperson.

Furthermore, the shortage of staff in these establishments is something that “we could have anticipated”says the spokesperson. “We knew that we were going to find ourselves in this situation if we did not upgrade the sector both in terms of salaries and working conditions.” She makes the clear observation: “What we learn in training is a world away from what we then find in the field.”