Portuguese authorities arrested Marine Rousseau, 41, and her partner Marc Ballabrigade, 55, on suspicion of abandoning her two young children in a remote area of Alcácer do Sal, a municipality in the Setúbal district. The children, aged four and five, were found alone on a national road by a passing couple, who alerted the Guarda Nacional Republicana (GNR).
The GNR stated that the pair are suspected of domestic violence and exposure and abandonment. Rousseau was apprehended in Fátima, roughly 170 kilometres from where the children were discovered. Ballabrigade, a former French police officer, was also detained. The couple are expected to appear before a judge to determine coercive measures.
A Troubled Background
Little is publicly known about Rousseau, who presents herself online as a sexologist specialising in trauma recovery. On professional networks, she claims expertise in body practices and developmental dynamics, and has posted videos about training parents to discuss sexuality with children. She studied psychomotricity at Pierre and Marie Curie University in Paris and worked with Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT).
Her maternal family reported her missing to French authorities on 11 May. The Colmar public prosecutor's office noted that she left behind a 16-year-old child from a previous relationship. The children's father, separated from Rousseau, filed a complaint of child abduction. French police tracked Rousseau through southern France, Spain, and Portugal but could not contact her.
Ballabrigade has a criminal record: in 2010, he was convicted of harassment and domestic violence against the mother of his daughter, receiving a nine-month prison sentence and two years suspended. A psychological assessment at the time described him as a normal person without pathologies. He resigned from the police after a period of depression, and on social media he has posted conspiracy theories, including claims of having worked as a slave for the Ministry of Defence.
Children Safe, Future Uncertain
The children were found on Wednesday, confused and telling passers-by they had been taken to the forest to play. GNR soldiers provided immediate care, food, and comfort before transferring them to hospital. The Setúbal District Prosecutor's Office confirmed the minors are in good health and have been discharged. They are now in temporary foster care under an urgent protection procedure opened by the Family and Minors Court of Santiago do Cacém.
The children's father is travelling to Portugal and will undergo an assessment to determine his ability to care for them. The Setúbal District Court stated that the children can only return to France following a formal request from French authorities, who are internationally competent to decide on definitive protection measures and parental responsibilities.
This case has drawn attention to cross-border child protection issues within the EU. For context, EU repatriation orders have hit a five-year high, reflecting increased cooperation among member states on such matters. Meanwhile, Portugal faces travel disruption as a nationwide strike looms in June, though this incident is unrelated.
The Portuguese and French authorities are in communication to determine the children's future. The Colmar prosecutor's office has opened a judicial inquiry into child neglect. The case continues to unfold as both countries await judicial decisions on the children's custody and the legal fate of their mother and her partner.
