Contaminated by pesticides during her pregnancy, Laure Marivain, a former florist, is fighting for the memory of her daughter Emmy, who died of leukemia at the age of 11. She denounces a "health scandal".
An 11-year-old girl has died of acute B-cell lymphoblastic leukemia after being exposed to pesticides in utero. Her mother, a former florist, has denounced a "health scandal".
Chemicals present on flowers
The facts date back to 2011. Laure Marivain, then a flower representative in the Pays-de-la-Loire, is expecting a happy event. Every day, she passionately takes care of her flowers, which come from the Netherlands and South America.
The problem? The plants are contaminated.
" According to a Belgian study from 2019, these flowers are riddled with pesticides," argues his lawyer Me Lafforgue, a well-known defender of pesticide victims. In addition, " florists have no protection, they can injure themselves with the thorns, so these substances enter the bloodstream even more quickly. "
But Laure Marivain doesn't know it. Besides, if she and her baby gain " little weight " during her pregnancy, it is at the birth that the doctors realize the seriousness of the situation.
" When Emmy was born, she wasn't crying. She was all purple. The anesthesiologist told us that there was a problem with the placenta, that it was charred, all black. And then her tests weren't good. A midwife even asked me if I had taken drugs during my pregnancy," the former florist told Radio France's investigative unit.
However, Laure Marivain did not take drugs: she does not drink or smoke. The only products she came into contact with during her pregnancy were on these famous flowers.
In January 2015, Emmy was diagnosed with acute leukemia.
At the age of 3, the little girl suddenly complained of bone pain. She also fell asleep in class, while her parents described her as a " dynamic " little girl.
Worried, the young parents take their daughter to the emergency room at Nantes University Hospital. The diagnosis is made Emmy suffers from acute lymphoblastic B leukemia, a cancer that starts in blood stem cells. Her parents are in shock.
" She endured thousands of medical procedures: surgery, cranial curettage, chemotherapy... Real torture for such a young child. And then, she often lost her hair, and it made her very sad, so much so that they kept it in a box," says her mother.
For seven years, the little girl fought against the disease. But she suffered from one relapse after another. Revolted, Laure Marivain then began to conduct her own investigation... and discovered that the flowers she was handling were impregnated with pesticides (most of which were banned in the European Union).
" I realized that in a bouquet, there could be 43 different pesticides. I understood that flowers were invisible killers," she revealed to our colleagues at Radio France.
The parents then decided to contact the Pesticide Victims Compensation Fund (FIVP) in February 2022. A month later, their little girl died at the age of eleven.
In July 2023, the Fund delivered its verdict and recognized " the causal link between Emmy's pathology and her exposure to pesticides during the prenatal period." A first for a deceased child.
However, the lawyer for the pesticide victims' compensation fund clarified that this fund " could only intervene within the limits of its powers" and therefore could not " fully repair the damage". The decision was postponed until December 4.
Pesticides and cancer: a proven link
According to Dr. Gérald Kierzek, medical director of Judgeyourhealth, the link between " exposure to pesticides during pregnancy" and " certain childhood cancers, including leukemia " is now recognized.
" Epidemiological studies have indeed suggested a link between prenatal exposure to pesticides and an increased risk of leukemia in children. This risk appears to be higher when exposure occurs during pregnancy or in the first years of the child's life," he confirms.
Some pesticides also have genotoxic effects, " that is, they can damage the DNA of developing cells."
Finally, " endocrine disruptors present in certain pesticides could interfere with the normal development of the fetus's immune and hematopoietic systems," the doctor acknowledges.
But when pesticides are everywhere - in our homes, on our clothes and even our flowers - how can we protect ourselves from them?
Dr. Gérald Kierzek invites all French people to limit their exposure by " avoiding exposure to pesticides as much as possible, whether in a professional or domestic setting " and by " being particularly vigilant with household insecticides during pregnancy."