Rennes (Ille-et-Vilaine), report
« I poisoned my baby »said Laure Marivain, her voice breaking, while holding back from crying in front of the Rennes Court of Appeal. Her husband stood close to her, to support her. The small courtroom was packed to capacity on Wednesday, October 9, so some people had to stay outside. The Marivains’ daughter, Emmy, died of cancer in 2022 at the age of 11. At issue: her mother’s prenatal exposure to pesticides, linked to her job as a florist.
Emmy is the first child whose death is recognized by the Pesticide Victims Compensation Fund (FIVP), as told by an investigation by Monde and the Radio France investigation unit. THE FIVP offered compensation of 25,000 euros to each of Emmy’s parents, in the name of the little girl’s suffering. The couple disputes this sum: the Marivains are asking for more than 1 million euros to compensate for the suffering experienced by their child before dying, as well as other members of the family, in particular his brothers and sister, Perle and Evan.
A hearing therefore took place at the Rennes Court of Appeal to review the amount and beneficiaries of this compensation. The decision will be made on December 4. « It’s not money that motivates us. When you carry your dead child in your arms, it is pricelessspecified Mme Marivain, at the investigation unit. We only hope that our daughter’s rights are not violated and that no more families experience what we endure. »
Flowers “ riddled with pesticides »
Several associations, such as the Collective to Support Victims of Pesticides in the West, or Phyto-Victimes were there to provide support to Emmy’s family.
Laure Marivain was a florist from 2004 to 2008, then a flower representative from 2008 to 2011 in Pays-de-la-Loire. THE FIVP admits « the causal link between the pathology [d’Emmy] and its exposure to pesticides during the prenatal period ». A first for a flower professional.
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During her pregnancy, Laure Marivain was in contact with flowers and plants treated with pesticides from the Netherlands and South America. 85 % of cut flowers sold by florists come from abroad, and contain pesticides banned in the European Union. « According to a 2019 Belgian study, these flowers are full of pesticidespleads his lawyer Me Lafforgue, notorious defender of pesticide victims. Florists do not have protection, they can injure themselves with the thorns, so these substances enter the bloodstream even faster. »
85 % of cut flowers sold by florists come from abroad, and contain pesticides banned in the European Union.
Pexels / CC / Valeria Boltneva
Laure quickly encountered health problems, as well as complications: her baby gained little weight. She was then put on sick leave. « When Emmy was born, she didn’t cry. She was all purple. The anesthesiologist told us that there was a problem with the placenta, that it was charred, all black »she told the Radio France investigation unit.
468 days in hospital
« His blood tests were not good. A midwife even asked me if I had taken drugs during my pregnancy »she said during the hearing. However, Laure Marivain does not drink or smoke. The only toxic products she came into contact with were the chemicals present on the flowers she handled during her pregnancy.
Between January 2015 and March 2022, Emmy had to fight B acute lymphoblastic leukemia. With complete remission and three relapses, the child spent 468 days at the University Hospital Center (CHU) from Nantes. « She endured thousands of medical procedures: surgery, cranial curettage, chemotherapy… A real torture for such a young child. And then, she often lost her hair, and it made her very sad, so much so that we kept it in a box »said his mother, her voice breaking. In the room, several people struggled to hold back their tears at the mention of the ordeal suffered by little Emmy. « You gotta let the world know, mama »made the little girl promise.
Mme Marivain was before the Rennes Court of Appeal on Wednesday October 9 to try to obtain compensation “ commensurate with the immense harm suffered by Emmy during her lifetime », According to the lawyer.
© Scandola Graziani / Reporterre
As soon as the diagnosis was announced, the former florist said she wondered what the cause was: « The doctors told us that it had fallen upon us by chance, bad luck as they say, and that we shouldn’t bother trying to find out where it came from… But I did some research and I understood that it could come from the treatments used for the flowers. The guilt never left me again. »
« There are no regulations to limit residues »
However, it is impossible to know which specific substances caused Emmy’s illness: « Manufacturers of pesticides for flowers are extremely numerous, and there are no regulations to limit residues, as in food »specifies Me François Lafforgue.
« Everything that revolves around the horticultural world chain is catastrophicadds Laure Marivain. No regulations, no maximum limit for pesticide residues… None of this is visible, but to me, it’s poisoning. Which flower professional is aware of being slowly poisoned 6 days a week? ? None. But we lost our daughter. »
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