Suicides in French PM’s staff raise furore, trigger preliminary inquiry | Gravitas

Ever felt frustrated over the toxic culture at your workplace? Well, this has reportedly become a key issue for staff connected to the French prime minister's office. Now, the Paris public prosecutor has opened a preliminary inquiry into alleged workplace bullying.

The trigger for this probe was a woman who handled issues related to correspondence for the prime minister’s office.

According to reports, she tried to take her own life in April by throwing herself under a train, but a commuter saved her life.

After her attempted suicide, she reportedly filed a complaint against alleged harassment.

Her lawyer told the media that her client was no longer invited to meetings and was often mocked at.

Now, the French prime minister's services comprise 50 departments, directorates, and missions and accounts for around three thousand five hundred employees.

Since October last year, reports indicate that the PM’s services have seen two suicides, two suicide attempts, and one mysterious death.

To be clear though, none of these persons directly worked with French PM Sebastien Lecornu.

But, what are the reasons for this crisis?

Toxic workplace culture has come under the scanner.

For instance, one complaint made to the Paris state prosecutor in June cited institutional bullying in certain departments.

It reportedly claimed that this factor was behind one of the suicide attempts.

The other issue being talked about is the instability of government which resulted in frequent staffing cuts and management changes.

In the last two years alone, France has had four prime ministers—Gabriel Attal, Michel Barnier, Fran-Swa Bayru, and Sebastien Lecornu.

In wake of the suicide crisis, the French prime minister’s services have stepped in.

While expressing full respect and support to colleagues and their families, senior officials stressed that psychological welfare was a constant priority for the PM’s services.

They added that a specialist audit on workplace wellbeing would be conducted.

This is not all.

They also revealed that an inquiry was underway in three specific cases—one of an attempted suicide and two suicides.