Guillaume Dominguez, edited by Romain Rouillard 20:01 p.m., April 11, 2023

On Tuesday, a report by the General Inspectorate of Social Affairs (Igas) was submitted to the government and evokes "institutional abuse" in nurseries in France. At the microphone of Europe 1, Alexia, educator of young children, told the inappropriate behavior she witnessed in the nursery where she worked.

Children humiliated, insulted and even beaten in some nurseries. These are the conclusions of a report by the General Inspectorate of Social Affairs (Igas), transmitted this Tuesday to the government. An "institutional abuse" that Alexia, an early childhood educator, was able to observe. This professional worked for several years in a private nursery where there were only two for 15 babies. At the microphone of Europe 1, she returns to the mistreatment sometimes reserved for children.

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"I have seen staff addressing children in a way that is not at all respectful. These were mainly nicknames: 'dumpling', 'Shrek'. And I saw a person look at a child and say, 'You, anyway, I have to train you,'" she said. A degrading attitude to which was added physical abuse that could threaten the integrity of children. "I saw people putting sheets over the child's face so he could fall asleep," she recalls.

"We washed the children in cold water"

Given the glaring lack of resources, Alexia herself had to resolve to adopt certain behaviors that she would normally have banned. "I have already fed two children at the same time. And I was also confronted with places where there was no hot water. So we washed the children in cold water because a boiler had blown up and in any case we couldn't replace it because financially, it wasn't possible."

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Some basic foodstuffs were even in short supply, according to his account. "Sometimes we went to buy small jars very quickly because there were not enough," says Alexia. So many grotesque situations that complicate the working conditions of these educators. "We want to welcome the children in the best conditions, because it is not at all their fault if we are understaffed. But the conditions do not allow us to fully develop as early childhood professionals," she concludes.