Government · Gers
Bardella calls for justice overhaul and Darmanin’s resignation after Lyhanna tragedy
Rassemblement National leaders Jordan Bardella and Marine Le Pen called for Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin’s resignation on Sunday, two weeks after the body of 11-year-old Lyhanna was found in the Gers, accusing the government of systemic justice failures.
AI text based on reports by Le Parisien, Ouest France, BFMTV and other publishers. Published . How it is made
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In brief
Lyhanna, 11, disappeared on 29 May; her body was found on 4 June. Suspect Jérôme Barella had been flagged for sexual violence but not heard by the justice system for eight months.
Jordan Bardella proposed doubling magistrates, a specialised prosecutor for minors, and life imprisonment without release for sexual predators. He ruled out the death penalty.
Both Bardella and, later, Marine Le Pen said the Justice Minister should have resigned by honour. Le Pen had initially been reluctant, then aligned on Sunday.
Bardella accused the president of security failure, noting only 4,000 of the 15,000 promised prison places were built and that France lacks 40,000 places to meet the European average.
- 29 MayLyhanna, 11, disappears after school in the Gers
- 4 JunHer body is found; a suspect, Jérôme Barella, is identified
- 14 JunJordan Bardella and Marine Le Pen call for Justice Minister Darmanin’s resignation
Political storm after a child’s death
Two weeks after the disappearance of Lyhanna, an 11-year-old schoolgirl, and the discovery of her body on 4 June, the case has opened a bitter political confrontation. The suspect, Jérôme Barella, had been flagged for sexual violence against minors but had not been heard by the justice system eight months after the alerts were raised.
Jordan Bardella, president of the Rassemblement National, broke his silence on BFMTV on Sunday evening, calling the affair a turning point.
“This affair is a turning point in the life of our country.”
A failing justice system
Bardella argued that the tragedy exposed a State “increasingly incapable of protecting the French”. He pointed to magistrate shortages and a “problem of doctrine” that allowed lenient treatment of sexual offenders.
“There are four times fewer prosecutors in France than there are at the European level.”
The RN chief proposed doubling the number of magistrates, creating a “national prosecutor’s office specialised for minor victims”, and introducing real life imprisonment (perpétuité réelle incompressible) for sexual predators with no possibility of release. He explicitly rejected the death penalty but called for zero tolerance on sentence adjustments.
Macron and Darmanin under fire
Bardella accused President Emmanuel Macron of failing to protect the French, recalling a 2017 promise to build 15,000 new prison places. Only 4,000 had been built, he said, while France was 40,000 places short of the European average.
“He is bequeathing to his successor a country where there is no longer a single parent who does not fear for the safety of his child.”
- Promised new places (2017)
- 15000 places
- Actually built
- 4000 places
- Gap to EU average
- 40000 places
Data from the article text
Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin, Bardella said, should have resigned “by honour”. Marine Le Pen, who earlier in the week had doubted the usefulness of resignation calls, aligned with Bardella on Sunday. Appearing on France 3, she said Darmanin “should at least have presented his resignation” and blamed his reform of the judicial police as “a catastrophe”.
“Nobody is ever responsible for anything in politics, and that is unacceptable.”
A timeline of the Lyhanna affair
Le Pen also insisted that the “essential responsibility” rested with politicians, not judges, and called for a complete refoundation of the justice system. Darmanin, previously the most popular minister in polls, saw his ratings slide after the affair brought judicial procedures into question.
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Sources and context
- Le ParisienAffaire Lyhanna : Jordan Bardella estimé qu'il s'agit d'" un tournant de la vie de notre pays "
- Ouest FranceAffaire Lyhanna : le RN continue de mettre la pression sur Gérald Darmanin
- BFMTVPerpétuité réelle incompressible, critiques contre Emmanuel Macron, démission de Gérald Darmanin... Ce qu'il faut retenir de l'interview de Jordan Bardella sur l'affaire Lyhanna
- Le Figaro.frMort de Lyhanna: Marine Le Pen met en cause la "responsabilité" du politique et cible Gérald Darmanin
- Jordan Bardella
- President of the Rassemblement National, called for justice overhaul and Darmanin’s resignation after the Lyhanna case
- Marine Le Pen
- Head of RN deputies, eventually called for Darmanin’s resignation and blamed his police reform
- Gérald Darmanin
- French Minister of Justice, targeted by demands for resignation over judicial handling of the Lyhanna case
- Emmanuel Macron
- President of France, accused by Bardella of failing on prison places and public safety
- Jérôme Barella
- Suspect in the killing of Lyhanna, had been flagged for sexual violence against minors with no judicial hearing for eight months
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