Three four-year-old children left their daycare center in Paris alone in the middle of the day on Tuesday before they were found safe and healthy on a street more than a kilometer from the school, according to a city official.
Patrick Bloche, deputy education officer for Mayor Anne Hidalgo, told the AFP news agency that these three children were in the courtyard during their lunch break when they were able to leave the school, which is located in an upscale district of the capital, confirming information from the Paris daily.
According to him, “a series of malfunctions” made this escape possible. “In the past, an adult would come out of the facility by pressing a button that would leave the door in open mode before the kids left the school on their own, unseen,” he said precisely.
“The three children were stopped by a passer-by more than a kilometer from the kindergarten “after crossing busy lanes, a tram line and crossing under the ring road,” said the elected official, considering “these facts to be extremely serious”. .
“There was an apparent lack of supervision, the City of Paris has opened an administrative investigation and sanctions will be imposed if there is fault,” added Mr. Bloche, who specifies that “no sanction has been imposed at this time”.
Contacted by AFP, the association of parents of the students FCPE Paris said that “a meeting between the parents of the three children’s students and the school was scheduled for Friday”.