Bobigny (AFP)

She was never told of the dangers of Depakine in pregnancy, so Chrystèle had a first child, then a second. Both of them are autistic. Wednesday, she will know if justice recognizes the responsibility of the State in the handicaps of her sons of 12 and 14 years old.

Even today, this 42-year-old mother says "she can't look in the mirror". "I am a nursing assistant, I should have known: no medicine during pregnancy," she accuses herself.

However, neither her gynecologist nor her neurologist ever alerted her to the dangers of depakine. On the contrary, when she became pregnant, the latter ordered her to continue this treatment, which was so effective against the epilepsy attacks from which she suffered since adolescence.

On June 24, the public rapporteur for the Administrative Court of Montreuil estimated that the State had failed in its duty to act and to provide information on this drug marketed by Sanofi since 1967 and estimated the loss of more than 280,000 euros family. The decision is expected in the afternoon.

Charles (modified first name) was 6 months old when Chrystèle, who works as a childcare assistant in Bourges, realizes that "there is a problem": "He slept 18 hours a day, did not catch objects".

Then begin five long years of "medical wandering", where no one is able to make a diagnosis. "We have seen billions of doctors, I have been blamed for everything: being too stressed, not stimulating my child, not taking care of him enough".

When Jacques, his second, is born, Charles is 2 years old. The elder "is then completely in his world: he does not play with me, does not look at me, spends his time lining up small cars", recalls his mother. As the child grows, he too begins to experience problems.

- Known dangers from 1983 -

For his lawyer, Charles Joseph-Oudin, the case of Chrystèle is emblematic of this health scandal, which claimed 30,000 victims according to the association which defends them (Apesac). "We never kept women informed of the risks to which their children were exposed in utero," he says. "Then, when they looked for explanations, they were treated like neurotics."

One day, "by dint of constantly turning the problem in his head", Chrystèle has "the tilt": "I kept asking myself the same questions: why are our children different while all the others, in my husband's family and mine are normal? What did I do during my pregnancies? All of a sudden, I thought about it: Depakine! " But his son's child psychiatrist sweeps away his hypothesis.

She had to wait 6 years for Charles, in 2012, to meet a doctor specializing in autistic disorders who confirmed his intuition: Depakin is very guilty.

During the hearing in Montreuil, the public rapporteur estimated that the dangers of the drug were known from 1983 for congenital malformations, and from 2004 for neurodevelopmental disorders. Two years before the birth of Charles therefore.

Intellectual disability, pervasive developmental disorders, ENT disorders, anxiety, anger attacks: in his report, the expert appointed by the courts stresses the need for assistance and permanent supervision of these two adolescents.

The elder is now studying in a specialized 5th grade. The cadet is in 6th, but his results have recently plummeted.

To take care of his two children, their mother works at night: "Charles is obsessed with death, when he does not see me all day long he is convinced that I am dead," she explains.

Psychologist, psychomotrician, occupational therapist, speech therapist: with her husband, maintenance worker, she juggles between appointments and administrative files. Without forgetting the education of their third boy. "At 6 years old, he has already caught up with his two brothers in terms of development", describes Chrystèle, who stopped Depakine during this third pregnancy.

For these parents, the future is a source of immense anxiety: "I am going to die. My children will have to survive but, without work, how will they do? She wonders. I only want that 'I am told that everything will be fine for them. "

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