“It’s stupid and absurd”

Can parents be kicked out of a daycare because they drop off their child in a police uniform on their way to work? In this nursery in Yvelines, the answer would be yes. And this discrimination would not be the only problem of the establishment which seems to operate with pieces of string.

The Farfadets crèche is located in Beynes, a town of more than 7,600 inhabitants nestled in the heart of the department. She has a particularity. There, meeting a gendarme is nothing exceptional since there is the Frileuse camp. It is a huge center intended in particular for the training of military. Some live there permanently while others are only passing through.

The Farfadets crèche is what we call a municipal crèche under DSP, that is to say under public service delegation. In this case, the contract was signed with the People & Baby group. A group at the heart of a controversy after the publication of Victor Castanet's book, The Ogres. “People & Baby is the big bad wolf, the frightening monster of children's stories,” writes the investigative journalist. Hygiene, savings on food, violence… Nothing would work in certain structures.

A stunning return letter

In Beynes, that’s a bit of what’s happening. And a little something else. On January 7, 2025, a couple of gendarmes received a surprising letter from the legal affairs department. He terminates the contract for their 2 year old child. The terms are astonishing.

“We have expressed our concern to you about your actions within our structure and more particularly your presence in uniform, armed with your service weapon and your intimidating actions towards our employees. To date, we have noted that these actions have not stopped and that you continue to intimidate our employees by questioning them informally, and in particular by taking them to task in front of other families in order to ask them if your uniform and your service weapon bothered them. »

“These repeated incidents and the constant pressure you exert on our staff have led to a significant suffering within our team and multiple complaints have been reported to us by our professionals. Your behavior is completely incompatible with our mission which is to welcome children in a peaceful environment both for them and our employees. »

A little further, the letter specifies definitive exclusion for this reason: “disruptive behavior of a parent having the consequence of disrupting the functioning of the establishment. » All within 4 days.

This referral letter followed a first letter dated December 17, 2024. The legal service was already asking these parents not to come in uniform. It all stemmed from a tense context between the two parties.

Since the start of the school year in September, Les Farfadets would have had a lot of difficulty running at normal speed due to lack of supervision. Management therefore decided to scale back in terms of schedules, forcing parents to adapt practically overnight. When it's not the same morning. “One was even forced to change job», confided to us a dad.

And then, in mid-October, People & Baby warned its members that acts of mistreatment had allegedly been committed. We talk to them about sudden gestures and inappropriate comments. Without further details.

“Your blanket stinks”

A month later, the couple of gendarmes were called. Their little one would have suffered violence, as evidenced by bruises on his body. The parents photograph each hematoma. And they begin to hear from other people. “We were told that there was a lot of aggression between the children, biting, scratching. Hygiene problems, children who are not fed or hydrated enough. There would have been some who would have been dragged by the arm. Of the pacifier squirts . Words like: your blanket stinks, you're not pretty. » All this motivates them to file a complaint. The professional concerned is laid off then dismissed. At Christmas time, parents set up a WhatsApp group.

The meeting that resolved nothing

On January 9, 2025, People & Baby decided to organize a meeting with parents, but also representatives of Beynes town hall. “For more than three hours, the debates were very heated. The big problem was the restriction of schedules, at the last minute, which forced parents to constantly readjust. In other words, the non-compliance with contract by People. Abuse was also mentioned. Parents cried. Some even offered to take turns to ensure opening and closing times. In the end, no commitment was made. They played burying their heads in the sand. »

It is in the wake of this meeting that the couple of gendarmes will put the company on notice to respect the contract. And that the legal director will start asking them to stop coming in uniform.

“Every place is worth gold”

Today, the couple was forced to reorganize their entire daily life. He has been on sick leave for several weeks. He provides family support at home. She continues to work. And both share the same vision of things. “The places are poorly managed. And the staff turnover shows this clearly. We do not blame the employees who, according to our discussions, are also in distress. We know that there are not enough of them. We blame the management which acted in a violent, brutal and discriminatory manner. It's all the more incredible that everything went so well with our first child. Now it is in the hands of justice », asserts the dad with a file containing photographs, email exchanges, letters.

Talking about the situation of the Leprechauns is not an easy task for parents. Because there is the fear of losing one's place or simply the structure in a context of childcare shortage; every place is worth gold. Some, however, are relieved to speak out.

“We were promised a lot of things when we signed the contract… And now, we're being told that if things don't go well, if we're not happy, we don't have to come. I had no problem. Except for these permanent schedule changes… The real problem does not come from the staff, but from the group itself. An auxiliary training school even flatly recommended not coming for an internship here. Are we told to look elsewhere? But there is nothing else…”

“It’s stupid and absurd”

This same parent is outraged at the dismissal of the couple of gendarmes. “That’s stupid. Simply stupid. They are very nice people. Me, that reassures meto see gendarmes in uniform and armed. We will be very happy that they are there in case of problems. Forcing them to go home to change is absurd. It’s as if, in a business, they were asked to change back into civilian clothes. » In this context, he heard that the drafting of a new line in the regulations was underway.

“They would like to ensure that no parent comes in uniform, whether it is a gendarme, a police officer or a firefighter… Anything! »

When contacted, the director of Les Farfadets refused to answer our questions. Not without difficulty, 78actu managed to contact the People & Baby communications department. The group says it is “available to dialogue and find peaceful solutions with parents. Afterwards, for this couple of gendarmes, we believe that there were menacesand coming to daycare at inappropriate times. Professionals felt intimidated by comments and uniforms. » People & Baby assures that it has made a report to the general inspection of the national gendarmerie. But without filing a complaint, which, for threats, is rather unusual.

For its part, the town hall does not have time to respond to us within the deadline for publishing our survey.

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