Emmanuel Macron Condemns Judicial Lapses After Lyhanna Murder In Puycasquier

France’s President Emmanuel Macron condemned “unacceptable” lapses within the judicial system after the killing of an 11-year-old girl named Lyhanna, whose body was found in an abandoned silo in the nearby village of Puycasquier on Thursday.

“- Published There is fury in France over the murder of an 11-year-old girl after it emerged the principal suspect had been identified several times in the past as a potential child molester”

BBC

Lyhanna went missing on May 29 near the southwestern town of Fleurance after she was last seen getting into a man's car, and a DNA test confirmed it was her, according to prosecutor Olivier Naboulet.

BBC

A 41-year-old father of two, identified as Jérôme B., has been detained as the key suspect after investigators found the body of a child wearing the same clothes as Lyhanna.

Le Monde reported that forensic doctors could not yet indicate the cause of death, while RFI said France was assessing possible judicial failings after allegations that investigators could have prevented the disappearance by better dealing with previous sexual abuse complaints.

Fury in France intensified after officials disclosed that Jérôme B. had been named in four separate cases involving young girls, with two closed for lack of evidence and one leading to his dismissal from a school job for “inappropriate behaviour.”

The BBC said the fuse was the fourth affair, a complaint from the mother of 10-year-old Rosa alleging she had been raped by him on several occasions, and it reported that medical examination substantiated the child’s claims but he was not questioned for nine months.

Digital Journal

Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin said he was “terrified” by what had happened and questioned why someone under such suspicion had not been kept away from children, while Macron said “It is clear that there has been a dysfunction.”

The prime minister ordered a report within 15 days to determine what went wrong, and Le Monde added that Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu requested initial findings of an administrative probe be submitted within two weeks.

France’s government launched an administrative inquiry after the case, with initial findings expected within two weeks, and Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin was set to meet prosecutors to examine the issue.

“France probes judicial 'dysfunction' after murder of 11‑year‑old Lyhanna shocks nation The French government is set to probe what President Emmanuel Macron on Friday described as "dysfunction" in the judicial system following the killing of an 11-year-old girl named Lyhanna in southwest France”

France 24

News of Bahrain said the review followed the disappearance of Lyhanna near the southwestern town of Fleurance on May 29 and the discovery of her body in an abandoned silo in the nearby village of Puycasquier, while formal identification was still underway.

The Le Monde account detailed prior complaints against the suspect, including a case dismissed in 2024 for lack of evidence and a third complaint on August 22, 2025, with police still not questioning him when Lyhanna disappeared nine months later.

RFI quoted the mayor of Fleurance, Gregory Bobbato, saying, “There is a deep dysfunction in investigations and in the way they are conducted,” and it also included Anne-Cecile Mailfert’s warning that “The system doesn't work,” as the government’s probe and prosecutors’ actions move forward.