
Python Dev has his baby taken by the French government - pausz
https://rendeznousnotrebebe.wordpress.com/english/
======
pausz
Summary:

\+ Cyrille and his wife Claire noticed their baby was not doing ok. \+ They
took him to several doctors who dismissed them with the wrong diagnose. \+
Cyrille and Claire took the baby to the hospital where he was diagnosed with
the Shaken Baby Syndrome. Yes, it sounds bad but the government never
questioned whether that diagnose was wrong as well. \+ The French government
refused to let the baby stay with and immediate relative (grandmother) and the
baby who is in recovery was separated from his parents.

More details

Disclaimer: The text below is a personal opinion.

I met Cyrille Rossant in a small conference in Paris (June, 2014). My first
impression was the he was a very gentle person. That first impression never
changed. It's a personal trait anyone who has ever met Cyrille will confirm.

Unfortunately I can't say that I know him as I know as a friend, only in the
context of conferences and through the many tutorials and awesome Python
libraries he has developed through the years.

On the other hand, I do know what French bureaucracy is like. I lived 5 years
in France. If you are familiar with the chicken and the egg problem, then
voila: that is France. If you know what if feels like to sign up for a service
in one second and then spend 4 years trying to get rid of it, then voila: that
is French admin.

Except that in this case Cyrille didn't sign up for anything, his baby was
taken by the French government in the blink of an eye and now it might take
months (if not years) to get little David back.

Is there something a large community can do to help? Will the French
government listen to reasons and close witnesses confirming the good character
of Cyrille? Or will they cure 'one' (mistakenly IMO) wrongdoing with another
one (early mother-child separation)?

In this case I wish whoever is in charge of their case put just an extra bit
of energy to try to get to the bottom of things.

~~~
jmnicolas
Stop the French bashing. Anywhere in the world it's the right thing to protect
the child until you're 100% sure the parents have nothing to do with it.

Imagine the outrage if they let the baby in the family since the parents look
so innocent and 6 month later the baby is dead.

~~~
DanBC
Child abuse is very common, and those children do need to be protected.

But removing a child from its parents is a matter of last resort, and must
only happen when there is reasonable evidence of a risk of harm.

> Imagine the outrage if they let the baby in the family since the parents
> look so innocent and 6 month later the baby is dead.

This happens _all the time_ , and no-one particularly cares.

Homicide is a leading cause of death for children under 5 in the US (after
accidents and congenital defects) [http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/child-
health.htm](http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/child-health.htm)

[http://www.cdc.gov/injury/wisqars/leadingcauses.html](http://www.cdc.gov/injury/wisqars/leadingcauses.html)

Where's the outrage? If society actually cared they'd properly fund and train
child protective social services, and provide meaningful useful training
around child safeguarding to anyone who works with children.

The routine rape and killing and abuse and neglect of children (one in four
children experience abuse or neglect during their lifetime[1]) is something
that society claims to care about, but does nothing to fix.

[1]
[http://www.cdc.gov/injury/wisqars/overview/key_data.html](http://www.cdc.gov/injury/wisqars/overview/key_data.html)

~~~
brador
And that's exactly what the government is doing here. Removing the baby from
the parents to prevent possible future harm until additional checks are made.

That takes time, and is stressful. But it looks like the best solution we have
right now to a very difficult problem.

There is no other viable solution.

------
johncoltrane
And why does it matter that the father is a "Python Dev"?

~~~
jacalata
s/python dev/person HN might care about

------
rurban
Why doesn't he simply report the licensed childminder to the police again?
This person is the most likely offender and should be stopped immediately, at
least the police needs to investigate.

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chrisbennet
Googling "shaken baby syndrome not real". Apparently, there is some question
as to whether this syndrome exists or is over diagnosed.

