France orders review of 70,000 child abuse complaints after 6,000 march for murdered 11-year-old Lyhanna

A community in white

Around 6,000 people dressed in white gathered in the rural commune of Fleurance, in the Gers department of southwestern France, on Sunday 7 June for a silent march in memory of Lyhanna. The 11-year-old's body had been discovered on Thursday 4 June inside a silo on an abandoned farm in Puycasquier, seven days after she disappeared. Her parents and younger brother led the procession, carrying a banner that read "Plus jamais ça ! On t'aime. Tu nous manques" (Never again! We love you. We miss you).

Our whole little world has collapsed. Once again, I have no words to describe this abominable tragedy that has struck our family. Lyhanna, forgive me. Forgive me for what you went through. We love you so much.

The march stopped several times for moments of reflection, including in front of the primary school where Lyhanna had been a pupil. Participants laid flowers there before continuing to a square where the family thanked the crowd for their support.

The disappearance and suspect

Lyhanna vanished on 29 May after being seen getting into a car with a 41-year-old man, the father of one of her school friends, outside her school. The man, identified as Jérôme B., was taken into custody and formally charged on 1 June with kidnapping and false imprisonment. Her body was found on 4 June in a silo at a rural property in Puycasquier where the suspect had previously worked. An autopsy on Friday confirmed the remains were those of the girl, though the cause of death could not yet be determined.

A history of complaints

Four complaints for rape of minors and two reports, including one for inappropriate behaviour toward a secondary school student, had been filed against the main suspect before Lyhanna's disappearance. According to the public prosecutor of Auch, complaints for rape of a minor were lodged in 2022 and 2025. The first was dismissed without further action; an investigation into the second was still underway. Despite the suspicions of paedocriminality, investigators had never previously questioned Jérôme B.

A dysfunction that is unacceptable.

In Montestruc-sur-Gers, the village where the suspect lives, the town sign was covered with a white sheet spray-painted with the words "PDM (peine de mort) for paedos."

Government response

Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin apologised to the victim's family on Friday on behalf of the ministry and promised to sanction magistrates for professional failings. On Sunday, interviewed by LCI, he announced he had asked public prosecutors to review "all complaints involving children" by 14 July — a total of approximately 70,000 cases.

We are giving ourselves one month. Not a single senior magistrate will go on holiday until I have seen each public prosecutor one by one to take stock of their appeal court.

Darmanin said the prosecutors general would be convened again on 14 July to report on their reviews.

A mayor's call

Grégory Bobbato, the mayor of Fleurance, addressed the crowd at the end of the march, calling Lyhanna's death the latest act in a long-running tragedy of silencing children's voices. He spoke of a failure in the most important mission of elected officials and the nation. The family had requested no political presence at the march, with only a few local elected officials who had supported them since the disappearance attending. Security was provided by 150 gendarmes.