The LREM deputies refused, Thursday, to extend the legal leave of an employee from five to twelve days upon the death of a child. After the intervention of Emmanuel Macron on Saturday, urging the government to "show humanity", the Minister of Labor, Muriel Pénicaud, acknowledged an "error" and promised that a more ambitious text would be submitted to the Senate under the form of an amendment. But what do the main stakeholders, parents and associations, think of this proposal by UDI-Agir Guy Bricout MP?
Not surprisingly, the text is widely praised by the people we were able to interview. "This is a generous first step, which can help families cope better with all the administrative procedures," says Martine Jouannic, coordinator of the Grand Ouest branch of the association "Apprivoiser absence", who supports bereaved parents.
"A truly special mourning"
When mourning a dependent child, the parents, in shock, can quickly find themselves drowned in funeral formalities and obligations. Even under heavy procedure, in the event of violent death. "Twelve days is hardly time to do all the paperwork, and sometimes even to recover the body when there is a medico-legal obstacle", attests Pascaline Brioso, who founded the association for the prevention of mortality infant "Les Rires d'Anna", named after her little girl, who died at the age of seven months.
However, says Anne, who lost a son, "When you grieve for a child, having twelve or five days doesn't make much difference. It's a job that lasts a lifetime. ” When her child died in 2011, Anne was simply unable to work. "For my part, I was arrested, like the vast majority of parents in this case," she says.
For Christine Catrix, the president of the Loire-Atlantique branch of "Jonathan Pierres Vivantes" (JPV), the extension of the legal leave has "an especially symbolic scope". "It is recognizing that the loss of a child is a truly special grief," said the 50-year-old, who lost her 16-year-old son Kevin. “It's your flesh, your future, your life of tomorrow that is falling apart. When you lose a child who still lives under your roof, his room, his smell, all his life remains there. We are never prepared for this. "
Yes to RTT's donation too
Only regret, for the families questioned: the bill is limited to the mourning of a minor or dependent child. “I find it quite formidable to establish a hierarchy in grief. It is to hear oneself say, for those who have lost an adult child, a spouse or a sister, that their mourning is worth nothing ", deplores Chantal, 65, of" Taming absence ", who has lost her brother of twenty. "Rather than establishing quotas, we should take into account affects and links," she pleads.
Sudden death, violent death or in the prime of life ... the more bereavement occurs under unforeseen conditions, which are not in the order of things, the more disturbing it is. “Burying a child is just as devastating for a parent as it is for a grandparent. It is the consideration of mourning in our society that must be questioned today, ”insists Chantal.
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And Olivier Milot, from the same association, added: “It is important not to exclude other proposals, such as the gift of RTT between colleagues. The death of a child is a taboo subject. This means of expressing solidarity with a gesture, when you can't necessarily find the words, seems just as fundamental to me. ”