Prosecutors have until mid-July to examine all active investigations involving minors.
French prosecutors have been ordered to review all ongoing complaints involving violence against minors after the murder of an 11-year-old girl exposed major failures in the justice system.
Last week, police discovered the body of a girl named Lyhanna in an abandoned grain silo in southwestern France shortly after she disappeared near Fleurance. Authorities have since arrested 41-year-old Jerome B., whose daughter went to the same school as Lyhanna, as the primary suspect.
The case has sparked nationwide outrage after it emerged that Jerome B. had faced multiple allegations of sexual violence, including against minors, but was never convicted, with the cases either dropped, dismissed, or left unresolved.
Following public anger, Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin announced on Monday that French prosecutors have been given until July 14 to examine all 70,000 ongoing formal complaints involving child victims, designating it as an “absolute priority.”
Darmanin has described the case as a “terrible failure” by the state and the justice system, saying in a public apology on Friday that the judiciary had failed Lyhanna’s family and promising an inspection report within 15 days.
The minister has convened France’s chief prosecutors in Paris, stating disciplinary action could follow if failures are identified, ranging from reprimands to dismissals.
French President Emmanuel Macron has also condemned what he called “unacceptable” lapses in the justice system and asked the government to determine what went wrong.
Around 6,000 people joined a silent march in Lyhanna’s hometown of Fleurance on Sunday, while child protection and feminist groups have called for demonstrations outside courts and the Justice Ministry, with some critics calling for Darmanin’s resignation.
Officials, however, have urged against making the judiciary the sole scapegoat for broader institutional failures. Frederic Chevallier, president of the National Conference of Public Prosecutors, pointed to chronic staffing problems, noting that France has roughly three prosecutors per 100,000 inhabitants.
According to the French Interior Ministry, minors accounted for nearly 58% of all sexual violence victims recorded last year.
Image credit: Levi Meir Clancy
