French Justice Minister Darmanin apologizes for judicial failures in Lyhanna case

French Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin apologized on June 5 for the judicial system's failure to protect Lyhanna, a schoolgirl whose body was discovered Thursday in the Gers region.

"Aujourd'hui, l'institution judiciaire n'a pas su protéger cette petite fille. J'en tirerai toutes les conséquences et au nom de la justice, comme ministre, je veux présenter mes excuses à cette famille et aux Français qui sont légitimement choqués, terrifiés de voir de telles défaillances," Darmanin said.

The main suspect in Lyhanna's death is Jérôme Barella, who is targeted by at least seven complaints or reports since 2017. A new complaint was filed in Saint-Brieuc (Côtes-d'Armor) for facts dating to 2023 in the Gers. The complainant, a young girl, said she recognized her attacker after media coverage of the case.

Darmanin said he would draw all consequences from the failures and mentioned possible sanctions against magistrates. The president of the National Conference of Prosecutors criticized the minister for prejudging the outcome of an administrative inquiry that has only just begun. "Ce que nous trouvons assez incroyable, c'est de dire que d'accord, on lance une inspection, mais de toute façon, il y a des dysfonctionnements et de toute façon, on aurait dû faire ci et de toute façon, il aurait fallu faire ça. Mais enfin, est-ce qu'on peut laisser les inspections travailler ?" the president asked.

Some magistrates point to chronic under-resourcing: France has three prosecutors per 100,000 inhabitants, four times less than the European average. The administrative inquiry's conclusions are expected in two weeks.