An investigation into the inner workings of an economic model where profitability takes precedence over the well-being of children and their families. Former employees provide behind-the-scenes accounts of these daycare centers, which now operate on a profit-driven basis. In France, Germany, and the United Kingdom, this sector is being privatized, paradoxically thanks to massive public subsidies. But where do these public funds end up?
DirectorsAlain Pirot, Coraline Salvoch
CreatorsCoraline Salvoch, Alain Pirot
The hidden side of private nurseries
Sep 9, 2025
Since daycare centers opened to the private sector in the early 2000s, early childhood has become a lucrative business for its voracious stakeholders. As child abuse scandals multiply and embezzlement of public funds is uncovered, we investigate the excesses of deregulation that has transformed babies into cash machines.
A system fed on public money
Sep 9, 2025
After twenty years of liberal deregulation, child abuse scandals and the misappropriation of public funds, governments and municipalities in several European countries are trying to regain control of the private daycare sector.
