The prosecution is studying the case before opening an investigation, but the Marne department has already decided to sanction two microcrèches after suspicions of mistreatment. These establishments located in the vicinity of Reims are in fact suspected of possible “acts of mistreatment” and of concealing “surplus numbers of children”.
“The Marne department carried out the administrative closure (of the two microcrèches) on Wednesday for a period of three months,” the department wrote in a press release. A decision taken following an inspection carried out on October 2 by the departmental Maternal and Child Protection (PMI) service. This led to reports suggesting “probable acts of mistreatment by employees as well as practices aimed at hiding excess numbers of children during PMI visits”.
The Reims public prosecutor’s office alerted
The department also indicates that it has “sent a reporting letter to the Reims public prosecutor’s office under article 40 (of the code) of criminal procedure”. Being “not certain that offenses other than administrative ones could have been noted”, the Reims prosecutor, François Schneider, indicates that “the file will be examined in more depth” by the public prosecutor’s office before deciding on the opening of an investigation.
Initially designed to develop a childcare offer in rural areas, microcrèches (less than twelve cradles) benefit from a less demanding regulatory framework, which can lead to “operating with poorly qualified and poorly supervised personnel”, according to a report from the General Inspectorate of Social Affairs (Igas) and the Finance Inspectorate (IGF) published in March.
