The Antidiscriminations.fr platform was launched on February 12, 2021, a few weeks after the scandal caused by police violence against producer Michel Zecler.
However, the majority of the calls received do not concern law enforcement ethics cases but rather problems related to discrimination based on origin.
In half of the cases, the cases give rise to a file being opened by the Defender of Rights.
The platform opened its offices at
20 Minutes
.
Reporting.
After a few minutes, Omar*, 62, bursts into tears on the phone.
“I am the victim of an injustice at my job.
I try to understand but nobody wants to tell me anything.
After weeks of procrastination, this electromechanic decided on Monday afternoon to dial 3928, the number of the anti-discrimination platform, which will celebrate its first anniversary on Saturday.
He has been working for the same company for twenty years and overnight, all of his colleagues, although less experienced and less qualified than him, have received a raise.
Everyone except him.
“I received 100 euros more than them and now I receive 80 euros less.
That makes me sick.
Suddenly, he wonders: is he a victim of racism?
For nearly half an hour, Victoria*, one of the seven listeners, investigates.
What did his officials tell him?
How does he relate to his colleagues?
Is there an event that could explain such a change?
By hanging up, the young woman is formal.
“I think it's more of discrimination linked to a health problem because he told me that other people, of North African origin like him, had been raised.
Above all, during the discussion, the man confided that he had suffered from lung cancer which made it difficult for him to bear the wearing of a mask all day.
During confinement, he ended up being placed on partial unemployment, his employers not hesitating to tell him that he was no longer useful.
25% additional referral in one year
Calls like this, the platform has received more than 11,000 since its launch, a year ago, on the initiative of Emmanuel Macron, to which are added 3,000 exchanges by chat.
In one out of two cases – as for Omar – they led to the opening of a file.
“The results are generally positive since in one year, referrals in terms of discrimination have increased by 25%”, specifies Claire Hédon, the Defender of Rights, who is piloting the system.
Beyond the number, the creation of the platform has made it possible to broaden the requests brought before this institution: the majority of appeals today concern discrimination linked to origin, whereas until now, referrals were mainly disabilities, supported in particular by highly mobilized associations.
More than half of the cases are related to employment,
“It's a new front door, insists Claire Hédon.
People who are victims of discrimination tend to give up taking action because they see all the obstacles or are afraid of being victims of reprisals.
But if we do nothing, discrimination persists and this has deleterious effects on people's lives in terms of physical and mental health, family life..." There is, however, one area in which the platform is still struggling: ethics cases concerning the police – in particular racial profiling – represent only 5% of calls.
The birth of this platform, however, follows the case of Michel Zecler, this music producer beaten by police at the entrance to his studio.
Fear of reprisals
The Defender of Rights does not deny that there are efforts to be made in terms of the visibility of the platform, in particular among young people in certain neighborhoods, but also highlights the problem of traceability to explain these poor figures.
"The young people are perfectly aware of having been checked several times, they may have the feeling that it was discriminatory, but they know that they have no proof", insists the one who pleads for the experimentation of a receipt, recording of checks on a tablet or via pedestrian cameras.
And to clarify: “Today, we do not even know if we have 5, 8 or 12 million identity checks each year in France.
»
If calls on this subject are rare, referrals are even more so.
"I had, not long ago, a mother who called me for her 21-year-old son," recalls Anna*, another listener.
The case she mentions takes place after a football match.
“He's at a red light, lots of cars are honking to celebrate the team's victory.
The police go up the line but stop only in front of him and verbalize it without proof that he actually participated in the festivities.
“After several reminders, the young man preferred not to follow up, for fear, he explained, of having problems with the police.
This fear of reprisals is one of the fears most often expressed, regardless of the field: when reporting discrimination at work, when looking for housing or during their studies,
Amicable settlements
However, on closer inspection, in 60% of cases, cases are settled out of court.
“We are not anyone's lawyer, we listen to both parties, insists Claire Hédon.
We almost systematically attempt mediation because the people who contact us want their problem to be resolved above all else.
And the Defender of Rights gives the example of this man in his fifties who was told that he was too old when he applied for a job.
When the organization's lawyers called the company explaining that this was discrimination, the man was finally received... and hired.
"There are still some great stories," she smiles.
Sometimes people are unaware that they are acting in a discriminatory way.
Our role is to remind them of the law.
»
When no agreement is reached, the applicants can be referred to the courts.
In the most serious cases, particularly those where there is clear evidence, a report is made to the prosecutor.
This is, for example, the case of a case recently handled by Anna.
A few weeks ago, she received a call from a woman who wanted to rent an apartment.
After an initial discussion with the owner, she sends him her file.
The answer is pithy: “Sorry, I don't rent to blacks.
When she replies that it is a racist remark liable to prosecution, the owner remains on the same line: “Go ahead, you have as much right as a monkey in the zoo.
In a few minutes, the file was assembled, the evidence – all these exchanges took place by email – overwhelming.
"Don't censor yourself"
No need, however, for such substantiated elements to grasp the platform.
Listeners and lawyers, trained specifically on this issue, have learned to detect evidence where we do not think.
A training course refused upon return from maternity leave, an inadmissibility for accommodation without explanation, an ambiguous email... Omar, for example, was asked to provide sick leave, details of his promotions and, if possible, testimonials from his colleagues.
“Do not censor yourself, insists Claire Hédon.
Let our lawyers ask you questions to see what is really going on.
»
Mélanie, 25, recognizes it without difficulty: she grabbed the platform without really believing it, shocked by a scene she had witnessed.
At the end of July, this Nantes woman called the emergency services after seeing a woman lying near the tram tracks, saying she was injured.
But on the phone, the regulator questions him about everything… except the state of health of the victim.
Is she black?
Of Roma origin?
Well-dressed ?
“When I got angry, telling him that his questions had nothing to do, he hung up on me.
Shocked, the young woman sent several letters to retrieve the tapes.
Without success.
She finally turned to the platform she discovered on the Internet.
" 2 months later,
I received a letter telling me that a disciplinary procedure had been initiated against him and that he sent me his apologies.
I was not asking so much of you.
»
*Names have been changed
Society
Discrimination of young people: "Because you come from a city, we send you to a so-called trash industry"
Culture
"A good number of people do not realize that they are discriminating," says Claire Hédon, Defender of Rights
Justice
Defender of rights
Discrimination
Racism
Society
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