Private nurseries: Green MPs request “perjury” proceedings against Aurore Bergé

Green MPs, supported by La France Insoumise, have accused Aurore Bergé, former Minister of Families, of perjury during her hearing before a National Assembly inquiry committee. These accusations are based on elements revealed in the investigative book The Ogres by Victor Castanet, which examines the economic model of private, for-profit daycare centers.

The investigative book “The Ogres” by Victor Castanet

In The OgresVictor Castanet highlights controversial practices in certain private daycare groups. He notably talks about the People and Baby group, accused of falsifying the number of hours of children’s presence in order to receive public subsidies from the Family Allowance Fund (CAF). The book also mentions a “non-aggression pact” that was supposedly concluded between Aurore Bergé, then Minister of Families, and Elsa Hervy, general delegate of the French Federation of Daycare Companies (FFEC).

Suspicions of collusion with private nursery lobbies

The Green MPs claim that, contrary to what she declared under oath, Aurore Bergé had close relations with the lobby of lucrative private daycare centers. They are demanding that the bureau of the National Assembly, the highest body in the chamber, initiate “perjury proceedings” against her. The rebellious MPs also support this request, made during a meeting of the bureau of the Assembly.

Denial by Aurore Bergé and reaction from those around her

Aurore Bergé’s entourage firmly denied the accusations of perjury, stating that she had “answered all the questions with honesty and transparency”. As minister, Aurore Bergé recalled that she had introduced reforms to control the locations of large private nursery groups and that she had encouraged the closure of non-compliant establishments. Faced with the accusations in Victor Castanet’s book, Bergé’s entourage also announced the filing of a defamation complaint against the author.

The Green and Insoumis deputies asked Yaël Braun-Pivet to put the issue of perjury on the agenda. However, her entourage indicated that this request had arrived too late to be examined at the last meeting of the Assembly’s bureau.

The situation therefore remains tense between Aurore Bergé and the Green and Insoumis deputies, while the defamation complaint and the request for perjury proceedings are pending.