In this episode of La Loupe, Xavier Yvon questions Béatrice Mathieu, senior Economy reporter at L’Express, on the reconstruction of Orpea, after the abuse scandal.
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The team: Xavier Yvon (presentation and writing), Marion Galard (editing) and Jules Krot (directing).
Music and dressing: Emmanuel Herschon / Studio Torrent
Picture credits: Bernd WeissBrod / DPA via AFP
Logo: Anne-Laure Chapelain / Benjamin Chazal
How to listen to a podcast? Follow the leader.
Xavier Yvon: I’m with Béatrice Mathieu, senior Economy reporter at L’Express, and we’re not in our studio near the Trocadéro in Paris, but not very far, in Neuilly-sur-Seine, the upscale suburb of the inner suburbs. Can you describe to our listeners where exactly we are, Béatrice?
Beatrice Mathieu : We are along the Seine, you see over there behind it is the very chic island of La Jatte. Here, we are really in the discreet opulence of the Parisian west. Facing us, this elegant white building with its balconies, colonnades, palm trees… it’s the “Les Bords de Seine” residence, it’s a retirement home from the Orpea group, and not just any old one.
Xavier Yvon : What is special about it?
Beatrice Mathieu : This is where the book “Les Fossoyeurs” by Victor Castanet begins.
Xavier Yvon : Yes, the investigation that revealed the huge abuse scandal at Orpea last year.
Beatrice Mathieu : Exactly. This luxury nursing home was the showcase for the Orpea group: up to 10,000 euros per month instead. It’s supposed to be an “old people’s paradise”, except it was actually hell. Come follow me, we’re going home. You see how luxurious it is, the marble, the big armchairs, flowers everywhere… The decor is the same as at the beginning of Victor Castanet’s book, but today, however, everything has changed.
Xavier Yvon : That’s to say ?
Beatrice Mathieu : There is a new director, who has the means to recruit to avoid running out of staff, nappies are no longer rationed, etc. In fact, this residence is symbolic of what is happening today at Orpea: it is the same company but inside everything has changed, the management, the practices, the philosophy… You will see that everything was not in the book, each file hid its little bomb and the metamorphosis is far from over.
Xavier Yvon : So we’re going to go back to the studio so that you tell us about this transformation in depth and we’re going to do the same as on the way there, no need for the La Loupe teleporter, we take the bus.
For further
PODCAST. Orpea scandal: how to better take care of old age?
Orpea: why the State saved the nursing giant
Orpea scandal: private nursing homes, these “cash machines”
Scandal in nursing homes: when Orpea recruited spooks to spy on its employees