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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
National
John Leicester

Case of missing 11-year-old feared killed exposes cracks in the French judicial system

France Missing Girl - (Copyright 2026. The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

A firestorm of recrimination raged in France on Friday over the feared killing of a missing 11-year-old girl, with the judicial system accused of having failed to act on previous allegations of rape against the suspect in custody.

The search in southwest France for the girl identified by police as Lyhanna has gripped national and, increasingly, political attention since she went missing after school on May 29.

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