Dysfunctions in French child protection

The chapter provides an overview of the dysfunctions in the French child protection system which highlights the importance and complexity of the system. It has been built on institutions whose spheres of activity evolve (justice, welfare, healthcare) and on professions that defend their own skills and codes of conduct (social professionals, psychologists, lawyers, doctors etc.). However, it also reflects a series of specific and evolving rules and values: for example, the importance of parents, even where they have been identified as ‘failed’; the rejection of paedophilia; attaching importance to what children say. Cooperation among the different sectors and the coexistence of different standards has given rise to misunderstandings and flaws in the system. Despite all precautions, children continue to lack protection from their parents and to suffer. However, the attention paid to children, their experiences and their views have continuously increased in France and elsewhere in Europe. This has been accompanied by greater sensitivity to tragedies. It is this increased awareness that leads to better identification of the system’s weaknesses and, on the whole, to improving standards, laws and practices to strengthen protection and consider everyone’s rights.