France Orders Review of 70,000 Child Cases After 11-Year-Old Lyhanna Killing
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Jul 3
France Orders Review of 70,000 Child Cases After 11-Year-Old Lyhanna Killing
3 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Jul 3
Summary
Gérald Darmanin ordered prosecutors to re-examine about 70,000 unsolved cases involving children by July 14 after outrage over the Lyhanna case.
The backlash intensified when prosecutors said the suspect in the 11-year-old's killing had faced several prior accusations of sexual violence against young girls but had never been questioned by police.
A preliminary inspection has already pointed to mistakes in Lyhanna's case, and Darmanin raised the possibility that magistrates could be dismissed over judicial failings.
The case has sharpened scrutiny of France's wider system: it has about 3.2 prosecutors per 100,000 people, and roughly 92% to 94% of reported rape cases do not lead to prosecution.
That pressure builds on earlier official warnings, including a 2023 child-abuse commission report whose priority measures were largely unimplemented and a 2024 alert of a "systemic crisis" in child protection.