Maureen Kearney

Maureen Kearney is an Irish whistleblower, a teacher of English, and trade unionist at Areva. A union official of the CFDT, she was elected secretary of the European group committee of Areva in 2004. Later she alerted the press and politicians to the existence of a secret contract involving technology transfers to China.

On the morning of December 17, 2012, Kearney's home was broken into, after which she was bound, beaten and sexually assaulted. She was then left tied up in the basement of her home. She was later found alive by her cleaning lady.

In the months following her assault, Kearney was subjected to brutal police custody. She admitted to making up the story and withdrew her complaint of "kidnapping, violence with a weapon and rape". She was accused of making up the story and charged and convicted of fabrication.

Later she explained her confession by saying that her daughter and grandchild were threatened. She was subsequently cleared of the charge of fabrication.

Family, arrival in France and union involvement Kearney grew up in an Irish family of trade unionists where it was customary to say that everyone “has two hands, one to help themselves and the second to help others”. Her mother campaigned for the release of Nelson Mandela in early 1990;

Secretary of the Areva group committee Logo of Areva since 2018.In June 2009, Maureen Kearney led an Areva delegation to the Elysées presidential palace. A sale of nuclear technology by Areva to China was later cancelled.

Then in 2012 a new and secret contract was signed with China for the transfer of nuclear technology. Kearney became aware of it via a whistleblower and she became a whistleblower. (The prime minister François Fillon was made aware of the secret deal in 2011). Before and after the 2012 presidential election, Kearney and other trade unionists met government ministers and parliamentary deputies. Several deputies stated publicly at the time that they wanted a parliamentary commission of inquiry;

2012: Intimidation, threats, rape and acts of barbarism Despite the support of her inter-union, Kearney was the subject of anonymous threats which she described to journalists from L'Express she met at the end of October 2012. The intimidation was repeated, forcing her to consult a psychiatrist and begin treatment. Her attacker threatened to murder her, telling her: “this is the second warning, there won't be a third”. The trade unionists of the CFDT meet the DRH so that it is protected as a whistleblower. Two days after the assault, Areva announced to AFP that it was filing a complaint against the newspaper, The union also asked the press “to observe the greatest reserve in the name of the right to the preservation of one’s person, relatives and friends”.

2012: EDF industrial projects with China Lauvergeon was heard by the investigators on 20 December 2012 and on 26 December, Le Canard Enchaîné revealed that Montebourg commissioned an investigation by the General Inspectorate of Finance (IGF) on the draft agreement between EDF and the Chinese company CGNPC.

L'Express revealed the same week that teams from EDF and the Chinese CGNPC continue to "work together", in Guangzhou, on "a nuclear reactor project competing with Atmea" (d' Areva) with “transfer requests” for part of its central architecture,

Threats and attack Shortly after starting her campaign against the deal with China, Kearney was threatened several times. Her daughter also reported that she felt she had been persecuted during this time.

On December 17, 2012, a brutal attack is said to have taken place. A burglar tied Kearney to a chair and inserted an object into her vagina. She is also said to have been injured. An "A", which stands for either Areva or "Avertissement" (German "warning"), is said to have been carved into her stomach. The attacker also threatened her with death and described the barbaric act as a "second and final warning". Her cleaning lady only found and freed her several hours later. Kearney herself came under the investigators' scrutiny and, under pressure from the investigation, confessed to having staged the crime. Although she later retracted this confession, she was sentenced to five months' probation and a fine of 5,000 euros in a 2017 trial. In an appeal hearing a year later, she was acquitted and the deficiencies in the investigation were criticized. The robbery was never solved.

The book was adapted in 2022 into the French-language thriller of the same name, known in English as The Sitting Duck directed by Jean-Paul Salomé with Isabelle Huppert playing Kearney.