France sees 60,400 protest over Lyhanna case as judicial council pushes back against 'discredit' of magistrates

Mass mobilisation across France

More than 60,000 people took to the streets on Monday evening, 8 June, to express anger and grief after the death of 11-year-old Lyhanna. The Interior Ministry counted 60,400 participants at 216 rallies nationwide, including 2,900 in Paris. The gatherings, many held outside courthouses, followed a weekend white march in the girl's village that drew over 6,000 people.

It is the expression of a strong feeling of anger and incomprehension among our fellow citizens.

The protests target perceived failures in the judicial handling of the case. The main suspect, Jérôme Barella, had been the subject of multiple rape complaints involving minors, some of which were closed without further action.

The judicial council's rebuttal

The Superior Council of the Judiciary (CSM) issued a statement on Tuesday deploring the "discredit cast upon thousands of magistrates, who work tirelessly in a difficult context." The body said it regretted the "instrumentalisation of this affair by those who hold magistrates accountable in advance for this tragedy and denounce their irresponsibility."

Such behaviour has no place in a democracy.

The CSM condemned death threats made against named magistrates, including the public prosecutor of Auch, whose office had been handling a rape complaint filed in August 2025 against Barella. The council noted that its disciplinary panels, half composed of lay members from civil society, issue numerous sanctions each year, a significant proportion of which involve the exclusion of the magistrate concerned.

A timeline of the judicial file

The complaint that has drawn the sharpest scrutiny was lodged on 22 August 2025 in Plaisance-du-Touch, Haute-Garonne, by the mother of an 11-year-old girl. It alleged rapes committed between September 2024 and May 2025 at the suspect's home. After several investigative steps, including forensic examinations corroborating the child's account, the Toulouse prosecutor's office transferred the case to Auch, which held territorial jurisdiction. Sent by post in late 2025, the file did not reach the Lectoure gendarmerie until 9 January 2026. Barella was never questioned in that proceeding.

Government response and the 70,000-file review

Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin has summoned all 36 public prosecutors general and ordered them to review roughly 70,000 pending complaints involving children by 14 July. The ministry's spokesman, Sacha Straub-Kahn, said the aim is to "create priorities and above all protect children who need to be protected." He acknowledged a "collective failure" extending beyond the judiciary to possible shortcomings in the gendarmerie and the national education system.

Every minute I spend in my role will be devoted to reforming the justice system. There are failures. Today, it is an immense failure.

Darmanin has rejected calls for his resignation, stating he would not "leave the ship in the middle of a storm." An administrative inquiry into the case is underway, with initial findings due on 19 June. The report will be made public in an effort to restore confidence in the judicial institution.

Systemic strain and budget constraints

The editorial board of SudOuest pointed to chronic under-resourcing, citing Council of Europe figures: France has 3.3 prosecutors per 100,000 inhabitants, ranking 43rd, and allocates 0.2% of GDP to justice. The magistrates' union, USM, reports that since 2025 the ministry has issued 42 circulars and 72 dispatches to prosecutors' offices. The mother of the 11-year-old complainant from the August 2025 filing announced through her lawyer, Me Pierre Debuisson, that she will bring a criminal complaint against the state and against Gérald Darmanin, as well as against investigators and magistrates who "did not do their job."