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France 24
France 24
National
Benjamin DODMAN

French justice system on trial as nation rages at failure to prevent schoolgirl’s murder

Gérald Darmanin Lyhanna Murder France Emmanuel Macron LIONEL BONAVENTURE Yaël BraunPivet ECHR Sexual Abuse
The parents of murdered 11-year-old schoolgirl Lyhanna take part in a silent march in her hometown of Fleurance, in southwest France, on June 7, 2026
The parents of murdered 11-year-old schoolgirl Lyhanna take part in a silent march in her hometown of Fleurance, in southwest France, on June 7, 2026. © Lionel Bonaventure, AFP

French Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin has ordered public prosecutors to review 70,000 allegations of violence against minors, by July 14, amid fury at the death of an 11-year-old schoolgirl that has exposed cracks in the country’s judicial system.

The death of an 11-year-old schoolgirl in southwest France has triggered soul-searching and recrimination in a country already roiled by a string of child abuse scandals.

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