French prosecutors investigate alleged bullying in government offices after suicide, attempts

Paris prosecutors have opened a preliminary investigation into alleged workplace bullying within French government departments following a civil servant’s suicide attempt.

The investigation followed a complaint filed June 25 by an employee of the Prime Minister’s Correspondence Department against four superiors over alleged psychological harassment, public broadcaster France Inter reported Monday.

The case was assigned to the Brigade for the Repression of Crimes Against Persons, the Paris prosecutor’s office confirmed.

The civil servant, identified under the pseudonym Laura, reportedly attempted suicide in April after what her lawyer described as 16 months of workplace mistreatment.

Her lawyer, Christelle Mazza, said the employee had been excluded from meetings, removed from the organizational chart, publicly humiliated and isolated from colleagues in a basement office.

The employee had repeatedly raised concerns with her union, management and occupational health services. An internal audit reportedly confirmed that she was experiencing severe workplace distress, but she was advised to leave the department.

Her case prompted colleagues to invoke Article 40 of France’s Code of Criminal Procedure, which requires public officials who become aware of a crime or offense to notify prosecutors. The report alleged workplace harassment and endangerment of life.

It also cited two suicides and another attempted suicide among employees in departments linked to the Prime Minister’s Office between October 2025 and March 2026.

The Prime Minister’s services comprise around 50 secretariats, directorates and other bodies responsible for coordinating government action.

Staff representatives linked rising workplace pressure partly to political instability following the dissolution of the National Assembly in June 2024, which was followed by four governments in two years, as well as departmental reorganizations, staffing cuts and management changes.

Three internal inquiries are underway, including investigations into the two suicides and a broader assessment of psychosocial risks across the Prime Minister’s services to be conducted by an external firm.

The Prime Minister’s Office said preventing psychosocial risks was a priority and that support had been provided to affected colleagues.

It added that 66 cases were referred to its workplace distress support system in 2025, compared with 44 in 2024.