Not found. On December 23, when the Secretary General of the Elysée Alexis Kohler listed the names of the new ministers in the Bayrou government, Childhood was not mentioned. The delegate minister Agnès Canayer, until then responsible for these questions, is not reappointed. The theme is also not part of the portfolio of Catherine Vautrin, appointed Minister of Labor, Health, Solidarity and Families.
Five days later, Emmanuel Macron finally announced the creation of a High Commission for Children, reassuring on social networks that the protection of the youngest “is at the heart of [son] commitment”. According to Le Figarowhich reveals the information, the head of state would like to “outsource” the management of this file, and thus “preserve it from political instability”. An argument that professionals in the sector are wary of, disappointed by the impossible implementation of initiatives launched by successive governments and the lack of political investment on the subject. “For two years, we have had four different ministers or secretaries of state linked to Children. We must fight to ensure that the latter remains a political priority – which does not seem to be the case, without a full-time ministry attached to the Prime Minister”, regrets Florine Pruchon, coordinator of the Dynamics for the Rights of the Child, which brings together around twenty associations.
The sector, however, continues to warn of the unprecedented crisis it is experiencing. According to the National Child Protection Observatory, no less than 344,682 minors or young adults were taken care of by Child Welfare (ASE) as of December 31, 2022an increase of 18% since 2011. Nearly half of these children are placed in families or reception structures, which lack places, staff and resources. Since 2016, the number of family assistants employed by departments has fallen by 9%, while the number of young people accommodated in establishments has more than doubled between 2011 and 2022. In 2023, the Magistrates’ Union was thus alarmed in a survey that 77% of juvenile judges have already renounced the placement of a minor due to “a lack of space or a suitable structure” – at the time, the union recorded “more than 3,300 children in danger kept in their families “, lack of reception available.
“Political weight”
Despite around ten reports on the difficulties of child protection over the last five years, the situation seems blocked. “The political turmoil has obviously frozen many projects, with initiatives which have simply gone into limbo,” summarizes Thierry Herrant, project manager for the National Federative Union of Host Family Associations. As an example, the professional cites an ambitious plan launched by the Minister for Children Sarah El Haïry last April, consisting of setting up, with the departments, seven working groups dedicated to child protection. Goal displayed? “Making recommendations” based on “successful experiences” in the territories. “No one knew what these working groups gave, which did not give rise to any conclusions and are, at a minimum, in suspense,” regrets Thierry Herrant.
To address these often complex subjects, the president of the National Child Protection Council (CNPE) Anne Devreese hopes for the appointment of a High Commissioner whose “political weight” would allow concrete action: “Let him whether she is a minister, secretary of state or high commissioner, her effectiveness will depend on her ability to win interministerial arbitrations and sustainably include the rights and needs of children in government priorities,” she specifies. The task is arduous: despite a real awareness of the state of public policies related to child protection, political figures who have decided to make a lasting commitment to these themes remain rare. “This requires a long-term investment, with very low political benefits, since we are dealing with a category of population with little support and little representation,” she comments.
“It’s just a hassle”
“Mobilizing politically on these subjects is just a hassle,” bluntly says Lyes Louffok, former foster child and current candidate for the New Popular Front during the legislative elections in Isère. “It’s an extremely complex sector, difficult to get moving, for which you have to agree to get angry with local elected officials, find the right means of pressure… Nobody wants that, even though it’s not a theme that will bring in votes,” he says. During his media and political career, this child rights activist observed a “total absence” of this subject in the internal life of most parties – including on the left. “It is not considered an interesting, noble or strategic fight. Even during departmental elections, you do not find a line on child protection in the programs, while it is sometimes a question of expenditure the most important department,” he assures.
Within the government, former ministers responsible for this portfolio admit that the position requires “strong political will”. “There is a reality: in the intellectual training of many political and administrative leaders, social issues in general and those linked to childhood in particular are not always a priority,” says Adrien Taquet, Secretary of State for the ‘Childhood between 2020 and 2022. “It is an interministerial public policy by nature, and a large part of the work consists of insisting on our colleagues to recall its importance. This imposes a minimum of political weight”, he emphasizes.
“This is not a portfolio made for passive people, I guarantee it,” reacts Laurence Rossignol, Secretary of State and then Minister for Children from 2014 to 2017. Although she benefited from a “favorable media context” during his mandate, marked by the publication of several books and reports on the dysfunctions of the ASE, the ex-minister testifies to a “very unequal” on the issue. “I met many vice-presidents in charge of Children in their departments who were delighted to finally find a listening ear and a collective, as they had had such difficulty penetrating the services on these subjects. Conversely, others officials showed no interest, only agreeing to talk about child protection to talk about unaccompanied minors,” she recalls.
In such a context, Isabelle Santiago, MP (PS) for Val-de-Marne and rapporteur of the commission of inquiry into shortcomings in public policies linked to child protection – relaunched last November after four months of shutdown due to the dissolution -, can only regret the “little political investment” following the recommendations of the numerous reports published on the subject. “The specificity of this subject is that it lies at the crossroads of many public policies, too often treated in ‘silos’, which tends to make it invisible,” she underlines. Without a database allowing the most vulnerable families to be identified in advance, with insufficient financial resources to meet demand, and suffering from a glaring lack of suitable structures, the departments are struggling to get their heads above water. . “But when they try to alert the State, the responsibility is often passed on to them. Everyone works in their own corner, passes the buck, and the problems are not resolved, or even hidden,” believes the MP.
“I was in a desert”
Paradoxically, the legislative system governing child protection has never been so comprehensive, largely reinforced by the laws of 2007, 2016 and 2022. An observation that is nuanced by Lyes Louffok, who regrets that “elected officials do not always respect the legislation”. “There is a lack of data on the number of children placed in hotels, the number of measures not implemented, with a total absence of transparency in certain territories, which believe themselves to be above the law,” he assures. In a sector where “everyone is holding their beard a little” and where “associations do not always have an interest in making scandals”, Thierry Herrant denounces for his part “a glaring lack of controls and sanctions”. “To enforce the law, you must not hesitate to engage with local officials, dig into what is dysfunctional, to bring everyone around the table and take the lead. This is perhaps what the sector needs of child protection suffers the most today: the absence of such political bulldozers.”
Part of the problem is that no one listened to these children, nor tried to understand the very opaque environment in which they lived.
Isabelle Santiago, MP
Especially since, for a long time, children placed in the ASE lacked a media outlet to make their voices heard. “Part of the problem is that no one listened to these children, nor tried to understand the very opaque environment in which they lived,” regrets Isabelle Santiago. According to the MP, the recent broadcast of “shocking” reports on the ASE or testimonies of children in care is just beginning to raise public awareness. “There has been a real media release, but it does not have the same scope as domestic violence or the scandals around nursing homes or daycare centers, precisely because of a lack of identification,” she believes.
In his media fight to assert the rights of children in care, Lyes Louffok often felt alone. “At the beginning, I was in a desert: people were still talking about the ‘children of the Ddass’ and all the prejudices that stuck to them,” he argues, evoking “the regression” that, according to him, represents creation of a High Commission for Children, in place of a dedicated ministry. “When we know the mysteries of power and what we have to give of ourselves to win favorable decisions on child protection, we understand that the battle is far from being won,” he breathes. .