French President Emmanuel Macron has denounced what he termed “unacceptable” failures in the judicial system following the murder of an 11-year-old girl in the Gers department. The case has reignited a fierce debate over how France handles complaints of child sexual abuse.
The girl, identified in the press only as Lyhanna, disappeared on 29 May near the town of Fleurance after she was last seen entering a man’s car. After an extensive search, investigators discovered the body of a child wearing the same clothes as Lyhanna in an abandoned silo in the nearby village of Puycasquier on Thursday. Formal identification is still pending.
A 41-year-old father of two, whose daughter was a school friend of Lyhanna, has been detained as the prime suspect. It has since emerged that he had been formally accused of raping a child on two separate occasions, but both investigations were either dropped or stalled.
“It is clear that there has been a dysfunction,” Macron told reporters in Tivat, Montenegro, where he was attending the EU-Western Balkans summit. “It’s unacceptable.”
Systemic Failures Under Scrutiny
Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu convened an emergency meeting with his justice, interior, and budget ministers, stating he was “particularly shocked” by the case. His office confirmed that an administrative probe has been launched, with initial findings expected within two weeks. Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin is set to summon all public prosecutors in Paris on Monday morning.
In Puycasquier, mayor Louis Turchi told AFP that the village was in shock. “It’s terrible. The community is stunned and so am I,” he said.
Prosecutor Clemence Meyer detailed the previous complaints against the suspect. In December 2017, a mother reported that her 17-year-old daughter was in a relationship with the man; the case was dropped in 2018 after the girl said she had consented. In January 2022, a complaint accused him of raping a child under 15 in 2020 at his home; that case was dismissed in 2024 for lack of evidence. In a third case, on 22 August 2025, the mother of a girl born in 2014 accused him of raping her child between September 2024 and May 2025 at his home. Police had still not questioned him when Lyhanna disappeared nine months later.
The mayor of Fleurance, Gregory Bobbato, questioned the system’s priorities. “Must we always wait for fully established evidence to be produced before finally doing something to protect our children?” he asked.
Denis Roth-Fichet of the independent commission on child sexual abuse, CIVIISE, told AFP that the case illustrates a wider problem. Investigations are dropped for nearly three out of four complaints of alleged sexual abuse of a minor. Only 7% of complaints for sexual assault of a minor, and 3% for rape of a child, result in a conviction, according to CIVIISE.
Anne-Cécile Mailfert of the Women’s Foundation activist group said the judicial system is failing to protect children, even when they speak up. “The system doesn’t work,” she said. Michèle Crèoff of the Union for Childhood association also expressed indignation.
The case has also drawn reactions from candidates in next year’s presidential election. Centre-right hopeful Édouard Philippe, a former prime minister, called for faster investigations. After a child’s testimony, “why doesn’t the entire state apparatus immediately go on alert?” he asked. Far-right contender Jordan Bardella, who leads in opinion polls and will run if Marine Le Pen is barred from office, said the crime “could have been, should have been, avoided.”
France’s handling of child protection has been a recurring issue, and this tragedy has intensified calls for reform. The country’s Green Fund cuts have also sparked accusations of climate denial after a record heatwave, but the focus now is squarely on judicial accountability.
