The French Foreign Minister, Jean-Noël Barrot, This Sunday, he expressed his “shame”, “deep sadness” and “anger” at the death of the 11-year-old girl Lyhanna, found dead this week in the southwest of France, by “a serious failure and enormous negligence on the part of public authorities“. The girl was allegedly murdered by a man with a history of pedophilia.
Barrot expressed himself about this case that has caused a strong national commotion and criticism of the functioning of the judicial system, in an interview with the program ‘The Grand Jury’ of the RTL, Le Figaro, Public Sénat and M6 media. “It’s a fiasco, a shipwreck, a shame“said the minister, and said he felt “deep sadness” for the family and admitted a “major deficiency” of public powers, stressing that the case evidences a failure to protect minors and in listening to the most vulnerable victims.
The minister maintained that the episode “could and should have been avoided” and asked that all the consequences be drawn from an investigation already opened to clarify possible negligence in the institutional chain. He avoided, howeverspeak out in favor of immediate resignationspointing out that responsibilities must be established based on judicial conclusions.
The case has reopened the debate on the complaints management previous charges against the main suspect, a 41-year-old man with a history of several accusations of sexual assault on minors, currently in preventive detention for kidnapping and deprivation of liberty. A white march leaves this Sunday in Fleurance (Gers), the town where the minor lived, with the expected attendance of some 5.000 personasamong them the girl’s parents who have announced their participation in the tribute.
Last Friday, the same day it was confirmed that the body found the day before in a disused grain silo was that of Lyhanna, the president Emmanuel Macron acknowledged “failures” in the judicial system during an official visit to Montenegro. The girl had disappeared May 29after leaving school, and was last seen getting into the school car. main suspect and father of one of her friends.
While the Minister of Justice, Gerald Darmaninalso spoke on television on Friday of a “massive failure” in the handling of complaints, apologized to the girl’s family and the French and summoned the attorneys general next Monday in Paris to analyze possible reforms.
Monday afternoon are scheduled demonstrations before the Ministry of Justice and courts throughout France in tribute to the minor, as well as in protest at the judicial treatment of her case and other similar ones in recent years. Feminist and victims’ organizations demand structural changes and greater effectiveness in the protection of minors.
Several celebrities, including actresses Juliette Binoche, Emmanuelle Béart y PFilipino Leroy Beaulieuand the actor Alex Lutz, among others, expressed this weekend your indignation on social media following Lyhanna’s murder and denounced the judicial system’s inability to protect children.
