They are four, on a sofa, on the other side of a screen. Helping barrier measures, we had to use videoconferencing to exchange views. But the emotion is no less palpable when these former Campus France employees talk about their years of suffering.
Burnout, depression, hospitalizations, suicide attempt, multiple legal proceedings … “A delusional situation, of very great suffering at work and rarely seen denial”, notes a good expert on the issue and the issues of harassment. The management of the organization replies that there is no “The slightest brutality in management (…) nor was there any harassment situation ”. And denounce the “Personal resentment” of the four employees who have created a collective.
Already mentioned by Mediapart in the summer of 2020, the multiple legal disputes resulting from the social situation within Campus France, a structure responsible for promoting French universities around the world and for managing foreign students in France, continue to be settled before the courts. A dozen proceedings are in progress in total, before the industrial tribunal, the court of appeal, the cassation, but also before the courts in several cases.
Monday, January 18, a former employee – not a member of the collective – thus obtained 30,000 euros in compensation for dismissal “Without real and serious cause”. Other judgments are expected in the coming months. At the same time as these legal battles, the group of ex-employees has increased the number of alerts to elected officials and ministries. When questioned, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, supervising Campus France, explains having “Requested a strengthening of social dialogue” and ensure from a “Close monitoring” of the situation.
” Brutal “
The public industrial and commercial establishment – a private law structure under public supervision – Campus France manages the arrival of students from all over the world to universities in our country. With more than 200 employees, the structure, launched in the early 2010s, is the result of the merger of entities with different practices. Mainly an association, Egide, which since 1991 managed the allocation of scholarships for foreign students in France; and the EduFrance public interest group, created in 1998 and which coordinated the international promotion of French higher education establishments. “Two very different jobs, with cultures that are not very compatible, the work on the stock exchanges being more austere, while the others do fairs, travel, are more visible », notes a Campus France employee, who deplores that “The opposition between cultures” continues for years after the merger.
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