“We come out of this broken,” says Maureen Kearney, whistleblower and former trade unionist at Areva

“I met a lot of whistleblowers, and we come away broken”, testified Friday, November 10 on franceinfo, whistleblower Maureen Kearney, a former trade unionist at Areva, attacked in 2012, invited to the 8th Annual Meetings of Whistleblowers. Her story inspired a two-episode documentary miniseries by Nina Robert, as well as the film The Syndicalist by Jean-Paul Salomé with Isabelle Huppert.

franceinfo: What is the reality for whistleblowers?

Maureen Kearney: First of all, there were years of terror, fear and incomprehension. The values ​​that we thought were universal, of respect, of understanding, of corporation are falling apart and we wonder what to hold on to.

“You never, ever, ever get used to fear. I was very lucky, because I had a lot of support from the CFDT, my family, my friends, constantly throughout all these years.”

Maureen Kearney, former trade unionist at Areva

at franceinfo

For me, justice worked, but it was a military psychiatrist specializing in post-traumatic stress syndrome who brought me out of the terror I was in. But I have met many whistleblowers, women and men, and we come away broken.

Does this reality discourage potential whistleblowers?

It seems to me. Except that it also seems to me that the whistleblowers are not in the calculation. We see something that is not acceptable and we try to warn, and only then do we realize what it can lead to.

What is still the main problem today?

Without my union, I would not have been able to go all the way. Justice is very expensive in France, and you need to have the financial, psychological and mental means to see it through to the end.

In ten years, with the Waserman law of March 21, 2022, have we made progress?

Legally, we have made progress. But you have to see the application… There is a gap between the legislation and the application of the law. For example, the Defender of Rights does a fantastic job, she is very involved. But they don’t have a lot of financial means! They do not offer psychological help and they cannot offer financial help.

These are the 8th annual meetings of whistleblowers, at MSH Paris-Nord La Plaine Saint-Denis. What are these types of events for?

The whistleblower lounge is essential. Because it allows people to speak and be believed. It’s like women who are victims of domestic violence, you have to believe them. This country is not full of people with overflowing, even crazy, imaginations!