Lyhanna case sparks French outcry over alleged judicial failures in child sexual violence probes

The abduction and killing of 11-year-old French schoolgirl Lyhanna has catapaulted child protection to the top of France's political agenda – with President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday calling for full accountability and the government pledging full transparency. As investigators examine possible failures by the justice system, child rights lawyer Dominique Attias tells RFI professionals have been warning for years that vulnerable children are not being protected.

Here in France, outrage. Outrage over what seems like the all-too-avoidable murder of 11-year old Lyhanna. The 41-year old suspect in her May 29th disappearance in a southwestern town - the father of a schoolmate - had twice previously been flagged and never questioned about suspected paedophile crimes. We’ll ask what went wrong and about a string of high profile cases that have recently shaken the nation, from the trial of a doctor in western France who abused patients over a period of decades and a new mayor of Paris - himself a past victim of child sexual abuse - who’s suspended dozens of after-school staff who were the subjects of complaints, to formal charges against French pop icon Patrick Bruel this Wednesday over alleged rape and abuse dating back to 1997. 

A snowballing political crisis over the judiciary's handling of child sexual violence cases ⁠erupted in France after the killing of an 11-year-old girl known only as Lyhanna, who went missing in the town of Fleurance on May 29 after leaving school. Attention focused on the justice system after prosecutors said the main suspect had been ‌accused of raping a minor in an investigation opened following a complaint filed in August 2025, but was not questioned until his ⁠arrest over Lyhanna's disappearance. Tens of thousands of people gathered across France on Monday night to protest over the handling of the case, chanting "protect our children".

France’s justice minister has rejected calls to resign following public outrage over judicial failures linked to the killing of an 11-year-old girl. The case has renewed scrutiny of how sexual abuse allegations are handled across the country. According to the independent commission CIIVISE, only 7% of reported sexual assaults against minors lead to a conviction. Amid growing demands for reform, here is the story of Léa. Now 17, she filed a rape complaint at the age of 11. Six years later, no charges have been filed against the man she accuses, who still lives just 300 metres from her family home.

Choralyne Dumesnil, Lawyer at the Paris and California bar, said France is at "time of transition" after lapses within the judicial system have been exposed following the death of an 11-year-old girl. The victim, ‌who has only been identified by her first name, Lyhanna, was reported missing ⁠in the small southern town of Fleurance on May 29, after leaving school. The 41-year-old father of a classmate was arrested on evidence that he was ‌seen with her on the afternoon she disappeared.

The victim, who has only been identified by her first name, Lyhanna, was reported missing in the small southern town of Fleurance on May 29, after leaving school.