Several thousand people demonstrated in Paris on Thursday to demand a salary increase and denounce the shortage of professionals in the early childhood sector, one of the areas that suffer the most from this lack of personnel.
The call to strike was launched by the collective "
Pas de Bébés à la consigne
", which brings together around fifty associations and trade unions.
2,500 people demonstrated in Paris according to the police, some 5,000 according to the organizers, singing "
The overbooked nurseries and the overworked pros, it is the babies who are sacrificed
".
Children's toys, musical instruments, dolls and other accessories were carried by the demonstrators, some of whom shouted at passers-by: “
We are on strike for your babies!
".
Adèle Reboux, 22, works in a crèche in Pré-Saint-Gervais (north-east of Paris) and denounces “
exhausting working conditions
”.
"
In addition to taking care of children, we must train those who have no qualifications
", she says in reference to a decree published in July 2022. This text authorizes the recruitment of unqualified employees more easily and their training. internally to make up for the shortage of staff in the crèches.
Insufficient salary
“
You have to fill the crèches as if they were ordinary shopping bags
”, regrets Miguelle Rimbert, 37 years old and educator in the Paris region, adding “
in the crèche where I work, we are two educators for 63 children.
Our plans cannot be carried out
”.
The crèches employ educators, crèche auxiliaries, childcare workers, etc.
"
Today, a nursery assistant earns 1,300 euros net at the start of her career, it's far too little
", regrets Sandrine Aragou, 50, auxiliary in the Yvelines.
Read also“Benevolence towards children no longer exists”: why daycare workers are angry
Demonstrations also took place in the regions, such as in Lille, Marseille, Bordeaux and Caen.
In France, the number of places offered by childcare establishments has increased over the last decade to reach 471,000 in 2019, most of them managed by municipalities.
Nearly half (48.6%) of establishments report a lack of staff, according to a survey carried out by the national family allowance fund (CNAF) and published in July.