France's Justice Minister Orders Review of 70,000 Complaints After Murder of Eleven-Year-Old Lyhanna

There, however, the matter was not forwarded to the gendarmerie in Lectoure until January 9, 2026 – even though a regulation in force since the beginning of the year prescribes priority handling of cases involving minor victims. Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said on Sunday evening on broadcaster France 2 that there were «éléments d'enquête assez accablants», but that the suspect had not even been interviewed at the time of Lyhanna's disappearance.

Political Reaction and Apology

According to judicial circles, the suspect had been reported multiple times in the past for the rape of minors, without this having had any legal consequences. Justice Minister Darmanin spoke of «erheblichen und inakzeptablen Störungen» in the handling of the criminal complaints against the suspect and told broadcaster LCI that he had been «terrifié» when he visited Béziers on Thursday.

On Friday evening, Darmanin apologized on broadcaster TF1 on behalf of the judiciary to the victim's family. The justice system had «failli dans le suivi des plaintes» against the suspect, he said. Should professional failures be confirmed, he announced sanctions against the magistrates involved. The following day, he wrote on platform X of «les dysfonctionnements accablants et inacceptables des services de l'État».

Darmanin justified his action by citing a lack of prioritization in the handling of the complaint. «Un viol sur enfant, c'est urgence absolue», he said. An inspection covering the judiciary, the gendarmerie, and the Ministry of Education is to present its conclusions within 15 days.

Reactions from the Judiciary

The reaction from the judiciary has been measured. The Conférence nationale des procureurs généraux (CNPG) and the Conférence nationale des procureurs de la République (CNPR) stated in a joint communiqué on Friday that, pending the results of the inspection, neither responsibilities could be established nor sanctions imposed. The majority union Union syndicale des magistrats (USM) pointed, according to its deputy general secretary Aurélien Martini, to a flood of directives: «42 circulaires et 72 dépêches depuis 2025». Martini also raised the search for «des boucs émissaires et vite».

President Emmanuel Macron has also now spoken out about the malfunctions. He rejected a question about additional resources for the judiciary. The president of the CNPR, Frédéric Chevallier, pointed out that France has only three prosecutors per 100,000 inhabitants, compared with a European average of 12.2. The judiciary accounts for only five euros per 1,000 euros of the state budget, and more than half of the Ministry of Justice's budget goes to the prison system, Chevallier said.

Parallel to the political reckoning, citizens are commemorating the victim. Around 6,000 people gathered in the small town of Fleurance in the Gers department for a silent march, a marche blanche. Participants wore white T-shirts and held a banner reading «Nie wieder! Wir lieben dich, wir vermissen dich». The girl's parents and brother were also among the participants. At the family's request, only local representatives were present, and no national-level politicians.

Commemoration and Protests

Several feminist and children's rights collectives called for rallies on Monday evening at 7:00 p.m. in front of the Ministry of Justice in Sceaux and in front of around a hundred courts across the country. The Fondation des femmes spoke of a «défaillance systémique des institutions» and called for «une loi intégrale contre les violences sexuelles faites aux femmes et aux enfants».