“Dead daycare centers”: why micro-reception structures for children under 3 are mobilizing this Monday and denouncing a “social plan” ?

Micro-crèches (less than twelve cribs) are mobilizing this Monday to protest against a government project (illustration photo). bethbapchurch/BBC CREATIVE – UNSPLASH

Micro-crèches (less than twelve cribs) are mobilizing this Monday, February 3, 2025 to protest against a government project that revises upwards the standards of supervision and training in these structures, accusing the government of organizing “the largest social plan” in the sector.

A “dead cribs” operation is planned from 4:30 p.m. this Monday, February 3, 2025 to “warn about the risks” that the reform would entail on “the sustainability” of the structures, indicates the French Federation of Daycare Companies (FFEC), which initiated the appeal with other private sector federations.

In their sights, a draft decree that plans to reverse the exemptions enjoyed by micro-daycare centers and strengthens controls on these structures, some of which have been singled out in survey books and reports.

Initially designed to develop a childcare offer in rural areas, micro-daycare centers benefit from a less demanding regulatory framework, particularly in terms of staff qualifications or supervision rates.

200% Deposit Bonus up to €3,000 180% First Deposit Bonus up to $20,000

What a report reveals

However, these exceptions do not allow “to guarantee a satisfactory quality of reception” and can be “constituting risks, by leading the structure to operate with poorly qualified and poorly supervised staff with vulnerable groups”, noted the general inspectorates of social affairs and finance in a report by 2024.

The report recommended aligning the supervision and qualification standards between micro-nurseries and traditional nurseries of similar size, a recommendation taken up by the government in its draft decree currently being examined by the Council of State.

What recommendations ?

This text, which could apply from September 2026, requires that the structure has at least one state-certified professional, that the reception of fewer than three children by a single professional can only be done when this professional is a category 1 graduate. It is also requested that a director exercise his functions for a maximum of two establishments.

Annonces dénonces

Dénonçant des annonces “sans toute consultation preliminary”, the mobilized federations believe that these rules are likely to “destroy tens of thousands of jobs and even more places of reception which benefit families”.

The Minister of Families responds

For the Minister of Families Catherine Vautrin, there is “no acceptable reason that the conditions provided for supervision” are not similar between structures of similar size.

In a letter at the end of January to local elected officials, she assures that “these orientations do not mean in any way that the State abandons micro-crèches”, recalling in particular its contribution to their financing.