France Probes Orpea as ‘Gravediggers’ Book Sparks Outrage
- Government starts both administrative, financial probes
- Orpea management summoned to ministry for meeting on Tuesday
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The French government is starting a series of probes into Orpea SA, after a book alleging mistreatment of elderly residents at its nursing homes created an uproar.
In “The Gravediggers,” author Victor Castanet describes the daily life of residents at one of Orpea’s most exclusive retirement homes -- overlooking the Seine river in the chic Paris suburb of Neuilly -- where patients pay up to 12,000 euros ($13,500) a month. Through interviews with staff, he paints a picture of a residence with an “awful smell of piss” and the rationing of meals and diapers even for the sick, with profit-obsessed managers showing little regard for patient welfare.